Bomb series

Jehovah’s Witnesses in shock after new attack

The police had the crime scene in view on Saturday, where traces of soot are reminiscent of the attack on Friday morning.

(Bild: Scheriau Erwin/Erwin Scheriau / KRONE)

After another bomb attack on the religious community, fear and uncertainty are growing. The police are investigating at full speed, but are still groping in the dark in their search for the perpetrator.

Soot residue, a destroyed fence and a partially burnt hedge of thujas in a small housing estate in Zettling south of Graz bear witness to the car explosion that woke the entire neighborhood from their sleep in the early hours of Friday morning.

Already the third attack
As reported, an explosive device destroyed the car parked in front of a house registered to a man who is a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. The police believe that the attack is linked to two previous bomb attacks on the religious community in Leibnitz and Kalsdorf.

"It's very frightening"
On Saturday, it is quiet in the small cul-de-sac lined with detached houses. A police van is parked on a dirt road about 100 meters from the scene of the crime, with two officers sitting inside keeping an eye on the house. Meanwhile, the investigation is in full swing in the background. The wrecked car is being analyzed, the results are not yet available and there are probably still no clues to possible perpetrators.

The religious community's unease continues to grow after the latest incident: "It's very frightening because we've never seen this before in Austria. We hope that the perpetrators will be caught quickly," says Max Tinello, spokesman for the Jehovah's Witnesses.