23-year-old shot dead

Brutal relationship: Killed by ex-boyfriend

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Stockner)

There is deep shock in Graz after a 29-year-old man literally executed a young woman (23) with a rifle in a lawyer's office on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, further details about the background to the crime became known.

It was a horrific scene that took place in a law firm in Kaiserfeldgasse in Graz on Friday afternoon. An Austrian with Bosnian roots (29) had stormed into the office on the fourth floor of an old building and fired a gun at a young secretary.

The 23-year-old Styrian woman was fatally shot. The shooter then executed himself. It is already the 13th murder of a woman this year.

The city center of Graz was cordoned off on Friday afternoon, countless emergency services including Cobra and helicopters were deployed.(Bild: Barbara Winkler, Krone KREATIV)

For many passers-by, the police operation and the large-scale cordons triggered unpleasant memories of the rampage in June 2015, which left three dead and dozens injured.(Bild: Barbara Winkler)

(Bild: zVg)

As the "Krone" newspaper learned, the perpetrator was 29-year-old Adis M. He worked as a technical employee in a metal powder production company in Graz. According to the police, the shooter had no criminal record and was not known to the police.

Contrary to rumors, not a couple
According to investigations, the perpetrator is said to have worked at the law firm from the end of 2022 to the beginning of 2023. However, the employment relationship was terminated by mutual consent at the time. Contrary to initial rumors, the two were not a couple, but only acquaintances. The 23-year-old allegedly helped him get the job.

Data carriers are being analyzed
During a house search at the shooter's home address, various data carriers were seized, which now have to be analyzed, Christian Kroschl, spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Graz, told the "Krone" newspaper on Saturday. He also confirmed that the murder weapon was purchased by the perpetrator just three days before the day of the crime. 

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Stockner)

The spokesman for the public prosecutor's office did not want to speculate on a possible motive: "Everything is currently being investigated." Just like the exact course of events and the number of shots fired. One witness had spoken of three "Kleschers". An initial (verbal) post-mortem report is expected at the beginning of next week.

Frauenring: "We urgently need an action plan!"
 The Austrian Women's Ring was shocked and spoke of a "Black Friday". "We were deeply shocked to see today that the life of a young woman, who still had her life ahead of her, was ended by a man. We urgently need a comprehensive, legally binding national action plan against violence against women and the complete implementation of the Istanbul Convention so that the murders finally come to an end. Violence against women must not be a trivial offense," says Klaudia Frieben, Chairwoman of the Frauenring.

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