Shortly before midnight in the district of Liesing two newspaper distributors – a 26-year-old and a 25-year-old – were attacked with an iron bar by a group of around three people.
The older victim received laceration wounds and the younger was left with bruises following the incident.
A few hours later a 25-year-old man distributing newspapers in the district of Währing was left with a broken hand and a laceration following a remarkably similar attack – again by someone carrying an iron bar.
Police are so far unclear as to the motivation behind the attacks, nor if the two incidents were connected with one another. The two men targeted in the first attack reportedly do not know the third victim.
In both incidents the vehicle being used to transport newspapers was also damaged. The culprits fled both scenes before they could be identified but left behind the iron bar used in the assault.
The Provincial Criminal Office has taken over the investigation from police and will question the victims – all of whom are of Indian origin – again. According to the latest information, it’s thought that the attacker or attackers were also Indian.