Divorce was imminent

Woman (44) shot dead, daughter fights for her life

On Tuesday evening, an act of violence with fatal consequences for two people took place in a council apartment in Vienna's Leopoldstadt district.(Bild: zVg)

Bloody drama on Tuesday evening in Vienna-Leopoldstadt: several shots were fired at around 8 pm - with fatal consequences. A 44-year-old Serbian man is said to have shot his wife of the same age and seriously injured his daughter. At the time, doctors were fighting for the life of the 24-year-old. Meanwhile, more and more gruesome details are coming to light. The grandchildren and another daughter of the 44-year-old are said to have witnessed the heinous act.

The wailing of sirens dominated Vienna-Leopoldstadt on Monday evening and Vorgartenstraße was cordoned off on a large scale. According to the latest information from the "Krone" newspaper, the couple's divorce was imminent and could have been the motive for the bloodthirsty act. The suspicion of a suspected femicide, as investigators already suspected on Tuesday evening, is thus becoming more and more substantiated.

Three children are witnesses to the violence
According to Ingrid Pöschmann, spokesperson for the Children and Youth Services (MA 11), other family members - the two grandchildren and the 44-year-old's second teenage daughter - were found physically unharmed. They are a newborn baby, a small child and a 15-year-old girl. They may have witnessed the horrific act, according to a neighbor who took the children into her care for a short time after the crime.

The dead woman's sister was informed and, according to MA 11, has taken over care of the children in the meantime. "The focus is now on the children," says Pöschmann. It is now important that the three of them experience "security and stability". The authorities remain in close contact with the children's aunt.

The 44-year-old Serbian suspect is said to have shot his wife and seriously injured his daughter - the 24-year-old's life is still in danger.(Bild: zVg)

The motive for the crime is likely to have been a relationship dispute. However, there are still many unanswered questions about the background to the crime.(Bild: krone.tv)

Couple's daughter in mortal danger
According to police spokeswoman Julia Schick, the Serbian man suspected of the crime and his wife were still married but were separated and divorced. The couple's daughter was seriously injured and hit in the head. She is still in an extremely critical condition. "The doctors are fighting for her life", said Christoph Mierau, spokesman for the Vienna Health Association on Wednesday. A forensic autopsy of the victims was ordered by the Vienna public prosecutor's office.

Another man was also injured by gunfire and is in hospital. His relationship to the family had not yet been fully clarified on Wednesday morning. It is possible that he is the boyfriend of the seriously injured 24-year-old. Despite a very serious gunshot wound, the man is doing relatively well, according to Mierau. According to the spokesman, he is not only stable but has also been transferred to a normal ward.

Here you can find help

• In Austria, women who experience violence can find help and information from the women's helpline at: 0800-222-555, www.frauenhelpline.at
• At the Association of Autonomous Austrian Women's Shelters (AÖF) at www.aoef.at
• Violence Protection Center Vienna: https://www.gewaltschutzzentrum.at/wien/
• At the 24-hour women's emergency hotline of the City of Vienna: 01-71719
• At the women's shelter emergency number: 057722
• Austrian violence protection centers: 0800/700-217;
• Police emergency number: 133

Exchange of gunfire with officers
A witness who lives near the scene witnessed the crime at close range and expressed his shock to the "Krone" newspaper on Tuesday evening: "Suddenly I heard seven shots. I counted them exactly," said 56-year-old Illoan Ille.

The bloody deed took place in Vorgartenstraße, near the Ennsgasse junction. Shots were fired in a council apartment at around 8 p.m. Neighbors initially alerted the police because of a loud argument. When the officers arrived, they became aware of the Serb, who pointed a gun at them when they approached him. Shots were fired again by at least one officer. The man was still able to flee at first and drove off in his car, a silver car. 

The suspected perpetrator was later found dead in the car, shot in the head. A weapon was seized by the officers in the vehicle. During a search of the apartment, the police discovered a female body as well as the two other victims and the 44-year-old's two grandchildren. 

Minute's silence for the victims of the bloody crime
Reactions came on Wednesday from the StoP association (districts without partner violence) and the Frauenring. At a press conference held by the association, which presented its latest campaign in Vienna on Wednesday, a minute's silence was observed for the victims of the bloody crime. Association chairwoman Maria Rösslhumer expressed her deepest sympathy to the victims and their families.

We must not go back to business as usual now.

Klaudia Frieben vom Österreichischen Frauenring

Klaudia Frieben from the Austrian Women's Ring, who was also present at the press conference, explained in this context that the latest crime once again revealed the urgency of the issue. She was "very angry", said Frieben on Wednesday on the sidelines of the press conference. "We must not go back to business as usual now."

The head of the Meidling district court, Oliver Scheiber, also saw a tightening of gun laws as necessary. He did not understand "why anyone - with the exception of the army or police - needs a weapon", said Scheiber, pointing out that this was purely his personal opinion.