16 Years After Shooting a Man in Vienna-Favoriten: Suspect Arrested

The Upper Austrian police announced this on Sunday. The now 51-year-old was checked by chance. He was initially arrested because he was unlawfully residing in Austria. Further investigations revealed that there was an EU-wide arrest warrant from Vienna against the Georgian.

The shot attributed to the accused was fired on July 31, 2009, in Vienna, confirmed Judith Ziska, spokeswoman for the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, in media reports. On that day, a then 38-year-old Georgian suffered a through-and-through shot in the hip in Staudiglgasse in the Favoriten district after allegedly threatening an opponent with a knife. The man had to undergo emergency surgery.

According to police information at the time, the dispute had previously broken out at Antonsplatz, between the 38-year-old and three other accomplices on one side and two other men on the other side, presumably all from Georgia. During interrogations, the victim did not appear particularly talkative: The man stated at the time that the confrontation had occurred by chance, and he did not know either his allies or his opponents. He claimed not to have had a knife with him.

Pre-trial detention in Vienna requested

Nevertheless, a suspect was apparently identified soon. The EU-wide arrest warrant was issued many years ago, according to the Upper Austrian State Police Directorate. On this Thursday around 2:00 PM, a patrol from the Leopoldschlag police station conducted a driver and vehicle check in a parking lot in Bad Leonfelden. Since the 51-year-old, who also did not have a valid driver's license, was unlawfully in the federal territory, he was arrested under the provisions of the Aliens Police Act.

Further database queries revealed that there was an EU arrest warrant against the man, among other things, on suspicion of attempted murder. According to the police, he was taken to the Wels correctional facility. The Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office applied for pre-trial detention on Friday, confirmed Ziska. The Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters will decide on this. If pre-trial detention is imposed, the accused will be transferred to Vienna, explained the spokeswoman for the Vienna Prosecutor's Office.

(APA/Red)

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