Threats Against Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial - Cobra and Police Deployed

A 20-year-old has been taken into custody after making threats against the Mauthausen concentration camp memorial in Upper Austria. The man was working as a civilian servant at the facility and is said to have announced a "serious act of violence with firearms against other employees of the memorial," the police reported on Tuesday. According to the FPÖ, he was a party member, and expulsion proceedings have been initiated.

The threat dates back to September 9. According to the Linz public prosecutor's office, the man had told several people that he had access to a weapon and would shoot all the employees of the memorial. Later, he followed up with a WhatsApp message in which he posted a photo of a weapon with the note that he meant it seriously.

Officials of Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial Notified Police

The officials of the concentration camp memorial immediately notified the police. By then, the civilian servant had already left the memorial. At the time of the threat, there was no immediate danger to the employees and visitors, according to a police statement.

On the orders of the Linz public prosecutor's office, the young man from the Mühlviertel was arrested shortly thereafter at his home by Cobra and the police. He offered no resistance and is currently in custody. The previously unblemished 20-year-old has already been questioned. He admits to the sequence of events but claims he only meant it as a joke. He is being investigated on suspicion of making dangerous threats. The weapon in the posted picture belongs to the civilian servant's father, confirmed the public prosecutor's office in a report by the "Oberösterreichische Nachrichten." The father legally owns the pistol, and the young man had no access to it.

Peter Handlos, district party chairman of the FPÖ Freistadt, confirmed on Tuesday afternoon via press release that the 20-year-old is an FPÖ party member. Expulsion proceedings have been initiated. "Apparently, it was a personal dispute between employees of the memorial and a former civilian servant of the memorial," said Handlos, who emphasized: "We acted immediately and condemn the threats in the strongest terms."

Anything other than an immediate expulsion from the party would be completely unacceptable, said the Green Party's spokesperson on right-wing extremism, Lukas Hammer. "We are now seeing not just one, but countless such 'isolated cases' - this has long been a pattern," added the foreign policy spokesperson Meri Disoski. The FPÖ is becoming increasingly radicalized "and is making itself a danger to our country," criticized the Greens.

"Deeply Shocking"

Barbara Glück, director of the Mauthausen Memorial, also confirmed the incident. After she and other members of the management were informed about the incident on September 9, the police were immediately notified. She thanked the authorities for their swift action and hoped for "a complete clarification of this incident, as the background and motivation are still completely unclear to us."

"As the director of the memorial, the safety of my employees is my top priority," emphasized Glück. "That this safety has been called into question and threatened is deeply shocking to me." The staff was informed immediately, and they are "in continuous internal and external coordination regarding further actions." The Mauthausen Memorial usually employs eight civil servants.

The SPÖ spokesperson for remembrance culture, Sabine Schatz, expressed her shock over the threat in a statement. The incident unfortunately once again shows how important the government's planned tightening of the gun law is, which is to be decided in the National Council's Interior Committee this week.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.