Shots in Anton-Kummerer Park in Vienna: Attempted Murder Trial

The men, aged 29 and 31, are alleged to have been involved in a shooting at Anton-Kummerer-Park in Brigittenau. The trial is scheduled for two days. The verdicts are expected on May 7.

The 31-year-old is accused of having fired a pistol at least six times with intent to kill at five opponents on July 5, 2024, without hitting them. The man was originally arrested for bringing compatriots to the crime scene in his car, where weapons, including at least one pistol, were found in the trunk of the BMW X5. It was only during further investigations that the prosecution concluded that the man, who had recently worked as a project manager, had driven there after a joint agreement with the second accused and an as yet unknown third party and is said to have shot himself.

The 29-year-old is said to have accompanied the main accused, knowing the plan, also armed himself at the crime scene, and attacked the Syrians in the park. According to the indictment, he "at least psychologically encouraged" the 31-year-old during his shooting.

Men in Vienna Injured by Ricocheting Projectiles

The bullets narrowly missed the Syrians. However, two of them were injured by projectiles ricocheting off vehicles. One suffered a four-centimeter projectile fragment injury in the area of the breastbone tip, the other a superficial laceration on the right thigh.

A man who was initially considered a third participant in the incriminated attempted murder and had been in pre-trial detention since the end of August was released on December 31. No contribution to the crime could be proven against him, although he is said to have been at the crime scene. He is now summoned as a witness.

The defendants have so far remained silent on the allegations. They are likely to change this stance during the main trial, as their defense lawyers Florian Kreiner and Alexander Philipp recently suggested.

Chechen stabbed by Syrians likely fueled conflict

The intense conflicts are said to have been preceded by a Chechen who was allegedly stabbed and critically injured by Syrians on June 3, 2024, in Arthaberpark in Favoriten. This caused a spark. Subsequently, on July 1, a confrontation occurred on Dopschstraße in Floridsdorf. The peak of the conflict was reached by the rival young men on the weekend of July 5 to 7 during nightly escalations of violence. Several partially armed men clashed first on July 5 and 6 in Brigittenau in the area of Anton-Kummerer-Park/Klosterneuburger Straße, then just a day later at Meidling station.

A total of seven people were injured during the weeks-long gang fights in the federal capital, four of them seriously. The last incident occurred on July 10 at Floridsdorf station.

(APA/Red)

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