Over several months

Fad in prison: Prisoner sent out bomb threats

Instead of the Rottenstein branch, the offender is now in Klagenfurt prison.

(Bild: Kerstin Wassermann)

A young inmate in Carinthia has chosen a very special pastime. Because everyday prison life was too boring for him, he started sending bomb threats by e-mail.

Lots of fresh air, working with your own hands and comparatively much freedom - a prison sentence in the Rottenstein branch of Klagenfurt prison is varied compared to other prison stays. But for one prisoner, it was still too boring. And so the 21-year-old started sending a few emails last summer.

Countless police operations due to bomb threats
"A series of bomb threats were sent to various police email addresses at irregular intervals between mid-August 2024 and the end of January 2025," reports the police. The target several times: the Rottenstein branch. "In connection with these bomb threats, a comprehensive police operation was launched each time," said the police.

Explosives experts, service dog handlers with explosives dogs and numerous police officers combed through the entire premises. All for the entertainment of the 21-year-old. "According to his own statements, the accused wanted to attract attention in his monotonous everyday life in custody by triggering police operations," explained the police. "However, he emphasized that he had no intention of endangering or threatening anyone."

Huge operation due to swatting attack
But that was not all - at one point the man also carried out a so-called swatting attack. The term is derived from the American police task force SWAT (special weapons and tactics) and is "popular" in some online streaming communities. "In 'swatting', the accused pretended to be another person and claimed to kill his roommate, his animals and ultimately himself," is how the police describe the incident. "He also planted a bomb in his apartment. He also demanded a sum of money from the police."

Here, too, a considerable police contingent was deployed to the address, including EKO Cobra, the rapid intervention group, the police negotiation group, service dog handlers with dogs and explosives experts. It was only after the door to the apartment had been broken down that the police discovered that it had been a swatting attack.

Urgent tip-off from the police

Swatting - the deliberate misuse of emergency calls to provoke police action - and bomb threats pose a significant threat to public safety. Such acts require extensive police action, can have criminal and financial consequences and should not be regarded as harmless fun.

State security officers track down perpetrators
All of these actions called the criminal investigators of the Carinthian State Office for State Protection and Counter Extremism (LSE) to the scene. "After meticulous investigative work, the LSE succeeded in identifying a 21-year-old inmate from the Rottenstein prison branch as the perpetrator," the police report on the outcome of the investigation. "The accused was in custody there at the time of the offences." He has now been charged with two counts of misuse of emergency signals and three counts of aggravated coercion. The 21-year-old, who confessed to everything, is now in Klagenfurt prison - will it be less boring for him there?