Hits in database

It’s now clear who shot a rival in Linz

A 38-year-old man was shot through the side door while sitting in this BMW X5 in the Neue Heimat district of Linz in January.(Bild: Matthias Lauber/laumat.at)

A 38-year-old man was shot in broad daylight in Linz in mid-January. The perpetrator fled - and is still in hiding a month and a half later. However, investigators have now been able to identify a suspect: An international database yielded a hit.

"I've been shot, help me!" Wild scenes unfolded on January 14 in the Neue Heimat district of Linz. A 38-year-old Chechen man was hit in the shoulder area by bullets in his BMW X5 in broad daylight, then screamed for help while covered in blood - the shooter fled.

More than a month and a half later, the perpetrator is still on the run, but investigators have now been able to find out who the shooter is. "We now have a name and an identity," confirmed the Linz public prosecutor's office.

Hit in international database
Shortly after the crime, the detectives were already in possession of a photo of the suspect taken from a customer card. However, because the shooter had never been reported to the police in Austria and cooperation with foreign authorities was initially bumpy, partly for data protection reasons - the "Krone" reported - the picture could not be matched for a long time. Now the international database has produced a hit after all.

Shots fired because of drug dispute
However, the Linz public prosecutor's office is keeping a lid on the exact identity of the wanted man for the time being - "so as not to jeopardize the manhunt." Only this much is known: "The suspect is male, an adult and not resident in Austria." And he had already made a police appearance abroad, otherwise the database would not have been activated.

The public prosecutor's office is investigating the fugitive for attempted murder. The shots are said to have been fired during a drug dispute.