Apartment stormed

Debts and stabbing puzzle police

Two operations in Brigittenau kept investigators on their toes on Wednesday (symbolic image).

(Bild: Daniel Scharinger (Symbolbild))

An alleged dispute over rent debts is believed to have led to a violent attack with a knife, hammer and stun gun in Vienna's Brigittenau district on Wednesday. Three men were threatened in their apartment by two suspected perpetrators and forced to hand over money. While the police were able to catch the suspects quickly, another crime on the same evening shocked the investigators ...

The events on Wednesday in the Brigittenau district are currently likely to puzzle investigators. At around 11.30 a.m., a 21-year-old and a 32-year-old Algerian national allegedly went to an apartment to collect alleged rent debts. They threatened the three men present, aged 26, 36 and 37, with several weapons.

Duo taken to prison
After the 36-year-old managed to alert the police, officers were able to arrest the two suspects a short time later. A hammer and a knife were seized, a stun gun could not be found. While the 21-year-old denied the allegations, the 32-year-old has yet to be questioned. The duo were taken to a prison.

Injured on the neck with a knife
But just a few hours later, at around 10.15 p.m., the police were called again: The 26-year-old resident, who had previously been threatened, was found with a knife wound to his neck. Emergency services took him to hospital and it has not yet been possible to question him. The immediate search for the perpetrator(s) was unsuccessful.

The State Office of Criminal Investigation has taken over the investigation. The connection between the incidents is being intensively investigated. The background to the brutal attacks remains unclear.