Three Armed Robberies at Gas Stations in Lower Austria and Styria Solved

On March 2, 2025, at 04:02 AM, an armed, unknown perpetrator, masked with a balaclava, white hooded sweater, and cap, entered a gas station in Wiener Neustadt, threatened a lone employee with a kitchen knife approximately 30 cm long, and demanded cash.

Intimidated by the threat of the knife, the employee took cash from the register and placed it in a black fabric backpack brought by the perpetrator. The perpetrator then fled with the loot from the gas station shop in an unknown direction. The employee was not injured by the perpetrator but was frightened due to the constant threat with the knife.

Armed Robbery at a Gas Station in Bad Fischau, Highway Rest Stop, on April 14, 2025:

On April 14, 2025, at 03:07 AM, after prior scouting by an accomplice, an armed, unknown perpetrator, masked with a balaclava, dark hooded jacket, and cap, entered a gas station at the highway rest stop in Bad Fischau, threatened the lone employee with a knife approximately 30 cm long, pushed her back towards the cash register area, and demanded cash.

The perpetrator held an open backpack towards the employee under continuous threat with the knife and forcefully demanded cash from both cash drawers.

After the employee placed the cash from the cash drawers into the perpetrator's backpack, he fled on foot with the loot from the gas station shop towards a getaway vehicle parked approximately 200 meters away, and further in an unknown direction. The employee was not injured by the perpetrator but was frightened due to the constant threat with the knife.

The initial investigations at the respective gas stations were conducted by the local police stations of the Lower Austria State Police Directorate together with the respective criminal assistance service stations (KAD stations). Both operations were subsequently taken over by the State Criminal Office of Lower Austria, Robbery Investigation Division.

During the subsequent extensive investigations, witness interviews, and video reviews, the getaway vehicle used for the robbery at the Bad Fischau gas station, a white Citroen van with Wiener Neustadt license plates, was finally identified. This led to clues about the suspected driver during further investigations.

Armed Robbery at Gas Station in Haberl, A2 Rest Station Schäffern, on April 16, 2025:

During the search measures already conducted by the police for the perpetrator, the gas station at the Schäffern rest area was robbed on April 16, 2025, at 3:30 AM by a perpetrator masked with a balaclava, dark hooded jacket, and cap, after it had previously been scouted by two individuals.

The initially unknown armed male perpetrator threatened the employee, who was alone, with a kitchen knife approximately 30 cm long, demanded cash, and opened a black fabric backpack he had brought with him. She took the cash from the register and stuffed it into the black backpack. The perpetrator then demanded that the employee open more registers with the knife held against her, threatening to kill her otherwise. After the victim handed over cash from additional registers, he pushed her back towards the office premises and fled with the loot to the getaway vehicle parked nearby and continued in an unknown direction. The employee was not injured by the perpetrator, but due to the constant threat and the knife being held against her, she was frightened and will seek psychological counseling.

This operation was taken over by the State Criminal Police Office of Styria, Robbery Investigation Department, where during the extensive initial investigations, the white Citroen van was also identified as the getaway vehicle.

The further investigations were subsequently conducted in close cooperation with the robbery investigation departments of the State Criminal Police Offices of Lower Austria and Styria, where on April 16, 2025, around 8:00 AM, the sought-after getaway vehicle was spotted by officers of the State Criminal Police Office of Lower Austria on the access road to the crime scene in Schäffern. After a short pursuit, the vehicle in question was stopped in Oed and the driver was arrested.

Three Armed Robberies Solved

The arrested 21-year-old Afghan national was escorted to the office of the State Criminal Police Office of Lower Austria, Mödling location, and was interrogated in writing about the facts. He confessed to having committed the three robberies on the gas stations in Wiener Neustadt, Bad Fischau, and Schäffern, with his 16-year-old accomplice, also an Afghan national, scouting the conditions inside the gas station before the robberies in Bad Fischau and Schäffern and selecting the suitable crime scenes with him. He admitted to having gambled away or bet all the cash stolen in the robberies.

Based on the order of the public prosecutor's office in Wiener Neustadt, the 16-year-old accomplice was finally arrested on April 17, 2025, by officers of the State Criminal Police Office of Lower Austria, Robbery Investigation Department, at his residence. He denied any involvement in the robberies he was accused of. During the searches of the vehicle and the accommodations of the two suspects, a large portion of the clothing, masks, and loot containers used in the crimes were found and secured.

The respective weapons used in the crimes were already found and secured during the searches along the escape routes. Extensive investigations into further crimes are still ongoing.

(Red)

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