Gang war in Vienna

Chechens against Syrians: Like in a gangster movie

The action appears to have been planned: With lots of weapons in the trunk of his X5 and two countrymen in his luggage, a 30-year-old Chechen literally hunted down five Syrians. The charge, which is not legally effective, is now five counts of attempted murder. The background is an ongoing gang war ...

The Vienna public prosecutor's indictment reads like a script for a gangster movie: "They drove to Anton-Kummerer-Park in 1200 Vienna in his BMW X5, parked the car and took weapons out of the trunk, including at least one handgun." These were the initial scenes of a shootout on the night of July 6.

Syrians threatened Chechens
Armed to the teeth, two Chechens (30 and 29) and another unknown man allegedly stormed into the park. Their target: a group of Syrians. Shortly beforehand, they had threatened a compatriot of the accused in a nearby pub. "Some of the judgments in this separate criminal case are already final," said the public prosecutor's office.

The victims were missed several times. However, several vehicles and a tree trunk were hit.(Bild: Klemens Groh)

(Bild: Klemens Groh)

"Victims missed", but still five attempted murders
It took less than five minutes after getting out of the swanky SUV for at least six shots to echo through the night - fired by the older man. "He missed the victims and hit a tree trunk and several vehicles," describes the public prosecutor's office. "Due to the condition of the handgun and the impact of the cartridges on the bodies of the vehicles, the fired cartridges splintered, disintegrated and bounced off the sides." Two Syrians were slightly injured as a result.

In the summer of 2024, there were repeated clashes in Vienna between members of the Syrian and Chechen communities living in Vienna.

Staatsanwaltschaft Wien in ihrer Anklageschrift

In the course of the investigation, the two Chechens did not want to make any statements about serious allegations. However, the background is probably an ongoing gang war: "In the summer of 2024, there were repeated clashes in Vienna between members of the Syrian and Chechen communities living in Vienna," summarizes the prosecution - the shooting was part of this.

Five counts of attempted murder, reads the not legally effective charge against the shooting client of lawyer Florian Kreiner. The 29-year-old, who has several previous convictions, would have made at least a psychological contribution to the crime, encouraging him to fire the shot. If convicted, both men face up to life imprisonment - a trial date has not yet been set.