He wanted a place to sleep

Up to 20 years in prison for the AMS knife threatener

A 36-year-old triggered a police operation at the AMS Gmunden.(Bild: Klemens Fellner)

On Thursday afternoon, a client (36) threatened the deputy department head of the AMS in Gmunden with a knife because he wanted to go to prison due to a pending delogation. However, his stay there could be longer than desired. Meanwhile, the head of the AMS reports: "Verbal assaults happen again and again.

The AMS hostage taker (36) from Gmunden, who comes from Laakirchen, allegedly only wanted winter quarters, but the justice system will hardly be satisfied with that. The police "only" charged him with aggravated coercion and deprivation of liberty. However, the public prosecutor's office in Wels is now investigating him for § 102, which stands for "extortionate kidnapping". And the penalties are extremely high, ranging from ten to 20 years.

Repeated assaults at the AMS
According to AMS boss Iris Schmidt, there are repeated verbal assaults on employees. They are specially trained for this. They also understand this because the clients are often in exceptional situations, fall out of the job market or can no longer find their way back into working life, as well as the resulting financial and personal problems: "There is also an internal crisis intervention team in case something bad happens. And clients like the one in Gmunden, who are problematic, are usually looked after by department heads and vice presidents, as in this case."

On Thursday, the 36-year-old threatened the deputy head of department and employees at the employment service in Gmunden with two knives. His motive: 54,000 euros in debt and fear of eviction. Now he is in jail.