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‘I’ve killed five people’: Shooting suspect arrested near Innsbruck

A man has been arrested in the Austrian resort town of Kitzbuehel on Sunday after the shooting deaths of five people.

Published: 6 October 2019 16:05 CEST

'I've killed five people': Shooting suspect arrested near Innsbruck

Photo: ZOOM.TIROL / APA / AFP

The man turned himself into police directly after the killings, telling police officers “I have killed five people”.

The victims are believed to be the man's ex-girlfriend (19), new boyfriend (25), her brother (25), mother (51) and father (59).

READ: Man held after home-made bomb leaves ex-wife with serious burns

Police told Austrian media that there had been a dispute between the man and his new girlfriend at a local restaurant the previous evening, with the relationship between having ended two months ago.

The man approached the family home at 4am on Sunday morning – where he had previously lived with the woman and her family – before being told by the victim's father that the relationship was over, before being told to leave the house.

He is reported to have driven home and taken a gun from his brother, before returning to the house at approximately 6am, entering the house by breaking a window.

He climbed a balcony to reach his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend, who were sleeping in a locked apartment inside the house.

Police said that the crime appears to be motivated by jealousy at the “end of a love affair”, also telling local media that the weapon was licensed and kept in a locked safe.

Kitzbuehel Mayor Klaus Winkler said that it was a dark day for the holiday town.

“There has never been such an event in this form (in Kitzbuehel). It is a tragedy and we are all deeply shocked,” he said.

“This was a completely irrational act… a terrible family tragedy”.

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When are police officers in Austria allowed to use their weapons?

Austrian police officers, like their counterparts in many countries, are equipped with firearms as part of their law enforcement duties. However, the use of these weapons is strictly regulated by law, with clear guidelines and limitations in place to ensure public safety and accountability.

Recent incidents have brought renewed attention to these regulations, sparking debate and discussion about when and how police officers are authorised to use force, including the use of firearms. Despite the recent events – with two deaths after suspects were shot by the police within two weeks, the number of such incidents in Austria is not high.

READ ALSO: What rules does Austria have on gun ownership?

In 2022, weapons were used 654 times by officers in 213 different incidents. In many incidents different police used their firearms and often more than once.

In those incidents some 137 people were left slightly injured, four were seriously injured, and no one was killed, according to a Der Standard report.

Provisional figures for 2023 show 328 uses of weapons in 202 different incidents. Sixty-five people were slightly injured, three were seriously injured, and two people were shot dead.

Looking back over a longer period of time, in the past 16 years, 18 people have died as a result of police use of firearms.

What are the rules?

The use of service weapons in Austria is regulated by the Weapons Use Act (Waffengebrauchsgesetz) of 1969, which states that law enforcement agencies such as police officers and municipal police officers may use weapons in cases of “just self-defence”, the report said.

For example, to overcome resistance to an official act, to make an arrest or to prevent the escape of an arrested person. Even then, the use of weapons is only permitted by law “if harmless or less dangerous measures”, including the threat of using weapons, pursuing a fleeing person, the use of physical force or milder means such as handcuffs, “appear unsuitable or have proven to be ineffective.”

READ ALSO: Is Vienna a safe city to visit?

Only the least dangerous weapon may be used if various weapons are available – service weapons also include tear gas or batons. The purpose of using weapons against people may only be to “render the target incapable of attacking, resisting or fleeing”.

According to the Weapons Use Act, a service weapon is permitted in defence of a person to suppress a riot or insurrection, as well as in some instances of arrest or to prevent an escape. And to arrest or prevent the escape of “an insane person who is generally dangerous to the safety of the person or property”.

In any case, whenever the police fire their weapons, the incidents are the subject of internal investigations by the Investigation and Complaints Office for Allegations of Abuse at the Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK-EBM). The authority will decide whether the case was an instance of self-defence and whether the use of a pistol was justified.

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