Weapon was illegal

Shot himself in the head – Viennese man in court

Since the incident, the Viennese man has had to wear an eye patch.(Bild: Eva Manhart)

In Vienna's Landl district, it's all about a small miracle for a very unlucky man. Completely drunk, a 62-year-old man was fiddling with his pistol when a shot was fired – hitting him in the head. He narrowly survived, but is now being sentenced by the judge.

A Viennese man experienced both tremendous misfortune and a guardian angel on December 18. Alone at home in his apartment in Floridsdorf, the 62-year-old spent a boozy evening: "I drank two bottles of vodka and six bottles of wine." And then he was handling his pistol – until a shot was fired and hit the man in the head.

He survived as if by a miracle.
The bullet pierced his lower jaw, upper jaw, cheekbone, and right eye socket. He was in the hospital for over a month. Miraculously, the client of defense attorney Roland Friis survived the serious injuries he had inflicted on himself.

In court with an eye patch: "Complete nonsense"
And now he sits in the dock at the Vienna Landl court wearing a black eye patch. The Viennese man should not have had the pistol at home in the first place. The result of his impressive twelve previous convictions, which, however, date back more than a decade: a weapons ban.

Defense attorney Roland Friis speaks of "a miracle."(Bild: Eva Manhart)

He appears reformed: "That was the biggest nonsense of my life." The Viennese man has learned two things: "Firstly, that I will never touch something like that again. Secondly, it's the worst junk there is." The judge shows leniency and sentences the 62-year-old to five months' suspended imprisonment. The pistol, which the defendant has owned since 2022, is confiscated in any case.