After Shooting Attack in Linz: 44-Year-Old Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison

A 44-year-old was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Friday at the Linz Regional Court for attempted murder. He is accused of a shooting attack in Linz. He allegedly shot the 38-year-old driver with a handgun through an open car window. The background could be a dispute in the drug scene, the defendant denied the intent to kill. The verdict is not final.

Shot in the Neck Through Car Window

The accused North Macedonian is said to have ordered the later victim to a meeting point on January 14. The Chechen came by car, and the accused allegedly shot him in the neck "at close range" through the open car window, the prosecution described the course of events. The man survived severely injured. The alleged perpetrator was caught in Switzerland a few weeks after the crime.

Defendant Claimed Self-Defense

The defendant admits to the shot but claims he only defended himself. He presented his own version to the court: The Chechen, whom he did not know, had called him the day before the crime and "demanded protection money," for reasons he did not know. At the meeting, the Chechen suddenly pulled out a "large knife." Therefore, he shot and ran away. How he could have seen a knife from his perspective was puzzling, the prosecutor doubted this story. "The car was not the glass carriage from the fairy tale, but an SUV."

The victim had no explanation for the crime and many memory gaps. The witnesses from the environment of the alleged perpetrator and victim also remained vague, claiming to hardly know the defendant. One denied in court what he had stated to the police - essentially, he had suggested drug deals. This prompted the defendant to say: "He will have to answer to my family for that." The prosecutor suspected that this certainly did not mean civil courts and stated: The defendant is a "dangerous man" who does not shy away from "threatening others to improve his trial position."

"Confession Letter" to Prosecutor's Office

She also pointed out that the defendant had sent a "confession letter" to the prosecutor's office mailbox. In it, he clearly wrote that he had fired the shot and expressed his frustration that the victim was not being prosecuted. From the prosecution's perspective, the background of the crime is likely that the victim wanted to interfere in the defendant's drug dealings, against whom a parallel case for drug trafficking is ongoing, or wanted to blackmail him.

The defense attorney concluded from the fact that his client had only shot the victim once in the shoulder from close range and then ran away, that he did not intend to kill the victim. Similarly, his client stated: "I have served in special forces in two wars" - if he had wanted to kill someone, he would have succeeded, he implied.

Verdict Not Final

The jury seemed to believe the prosecutor's perspective more. The defendant was found guilty of attempted murder. Neither the prosecution nor the defense made a statement. Thus, the verdict is not final.

(APA/Red)

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