Shots in barracks – incidents in the army again and again

Here is a list of the most serious events in the Austrian Armed Forces in the last seven years:

• January 2022 – When a suspected towing vehicle is stopped, shots are fired at a small border crossing in the south of Burgenland. A smuggler shoots at soldiers of the Austrian army, then flees across the border to Hungary. Nobody gets hurt.

• June 2021 – A soldier seriously wounds a comrade by firing a pistol. Both men, militiamen, are from Vienna and stand on a high stand to guard the state border in the Nickelsdorf area on the Nova Rock Festival grounds. They allegedly handled their weapons “grossly negligently” and engaged in “target practice”.

• November 2019 – In the airfield barracks in Wiener Neustadt, a soldier was attacked and killed by two dogs. The 31-year-old is found lifeless in front of the kennel. It is unclear why the Belgian Sheepdogs attacked him. A year later, the investigations against both the responsible dog handler and “not specifically investigated responsible officers of the armed forces” are closed.

• March 2018 – A 26-year-old man carried out a knife attack on an Austrian army guard in front of the residence of the Iranian ambassador in Vienna-Hietzing. The soldier fends off the attacker with shots from the service weapon. The man dies on the spot. The sentry takes a cut.

• October 2017 – In a relaxation room in a Viennese office building of the Austrian armed forces, a recruit is killed by a comrade with a shot to the head. The perpetrator, who always spoke of an accident, has now been convicted of murder.

• August 2017 – A Guard recruit in Horn dies of overheating. This happens after about three of the planned 15 kilometer march “at a moderate pace”. The investigation into the cause was later stopped by the public prosecutor’s office in Krems.

• January 2015 – While on patrol in the Conrad barracks in Innsbruck, an army recruit was shot by a comrade. The 19-year-old suffered an abrasion and was taken to military hospital with minor injuries.

• July 2015 – A soldier is killed and another injured in a tanking accident at the Allentsteig military training area in the Waldviertel (Zwettl district) in Lower Austria. The infantry fighting vehicle “Saurer” falls into a hole during a training ride without ammunition. The driver, a 21-year-old army sergeant, is killed.

The investigation into the latest case is ongoing
According to the police, the investigation into the latest case in Wiener Neustadt is still ongoing. It is still unclear whether it was actually a gunshot wound. A committee of inquiry was also set up and a first report should be available after 48 hours.