- A hunter has killed a mayor and another man, and left a third injured
- He was accused of “unhunting behavior”
- Austrian authorities have sent an elite special forces unit to hunt him down.
A hunter killed an Austrian mayor and another man, and wounded a third, in a devastating shootout after he was reportedly accused of “unhunting behaviour”.
This morning around 8:30 local time the emergency services were informed that shots had been fired in the Upper Austrian district of Rohrbach, where the mayor of the town of Kirchberg ob der Donau was murdered.
Residents have been asked to barricade themselves in their homes while Austrian police search for the shooter, whose identity is currently unknown and is still believed to be armed and dangerous. Austrian authorities have sent EKO Cobra, an elite special forces unit, to help apprehend the suspect.
The mayor, locally called Franz Hofer, was murdered in the town of Altenfelden, in the middle of a meadow, about 500 meters from a federal highway.
He was a hunt director, according to local media, and had been leading the town of around 1,000 residents since 2008, although he was looking to retire soon.
While the reason for the terrible spree has yet to be determined, Austrian newspaper Kurier reported that the mayor had recently filed a complaint against the fugitive for “unhunting behavior.”
Police officers patrol in Rohrbach, Upper Austria, on October 28, 2024, after at least two men were shot dead in the Muehlviertel region in the morning.
Police officers patrol in Altenfelden, Upper Austria, on October 28, 2024, after at least two men were shot dead in the Muehlviertel region in the morning.
The mayor, locally called Franz Hofer (pictured), was murdered in the town of Altenfelden, in the middle of a meadow, about 500 meters from a federal highway.
Shots were fired this morning in the Upper Austrian district of Rohrbach, where the mayor of the city of Kirchberg ob der Donau was murdered (Archive image from Kirchberg ob der Donau)
The mayor of the city was murdered by a man believed to be a hunter (Archive image from Kirchberg ob der Donau)
Austrian newspaper Die Presse reported that the two men were fighting over the allocation of hunting rights.
Acquaintances in the local hunting scene told the newspaper that the suspect was “troublesome.”
The second victim, an unnamed man who was found in nearby Arnreit, is also believed to be a current or former hunt director.
The third victim has not yet been identified.
Herbert Sieghartsleitner, state game chief: ‘I am deeply shocked by what has happened. He knew Franz Hofer personally very well. It’s incredible what’s happening right now.”