19 weapons seized

Police raided pollster’s property

Werner Beutelmeyer is alleged to have violated gun laws. That could cost him his hunting license.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Kerschbaummayr Werner, Bartel Gerhard)

Celebrity pollster Werner Beutelmeyer (Market) received a rather unexpected visit early Thursday morning—seven police officers stormed his property and seized 19 weapons. In an interview with the “Krone,” the Linz resident suspects a conspiracy behind the complaint.

At 6:20 a.m., seven police officers from the Rapid Intervention Group (SIG) “visited” the 66-year-old Linz resident. He is accused of conducting shooting practice on his unfenced property. Shooting at targets allegedly endangered neighbors, motorists, and hikers.

He is also alleged to have given the weapons to his two minor sons so that they could practice shooting. A weapons ban was imposed on the suspect, and 19 firearms of various categories, approximately 1,000 rounds of ammunition, his firearms license, and his firearms permit were confiscated.

Endangering physical safety
During the seizure, the police also determined that the weapons were not being stored securely because the keys to them were freely accessible. Furthermore, during a shooting exercise, a person is said to have been placed in immediate danger because they were standing behind the mound of earth that was intended to serve as a sort of bullet trap. The suspect is being charged with endangering physical safety.

I was and remain surprised and will challenge the official decision; I have already instructed my attorneys to do so.

Werner Beutelmeyer (66) zur „Krone“

“Lawyers have already been retained”
The gun owner is a true “celebrity,” namely Werner Beutelmeyer (66), head of the well-known Linz-based market research institute Market. He says: “I was and am surprised and will challenge the official decision; I have already instructed my lawyers to do so. I have been a hunter for 26 years and own two hunting grounds. I live on a rural estate in Urfahr with 30 hectares of forest and ten hectares of meadows in a secluded location. The allegations are complete nonsense. It will be necessary to examine how the authorities handled this matter.”

Beutelmeyer suspects a conspiracy. He explains that he has been embroiled in a neighborhood dispute for a decade, with numerous court rulings in his favor: “The way I see it, after disputes over the wood storage area, road use, the driveway, and demolition orders for a barn, we are now in the fifth stage.”

„Krone“-Kommentar

Gleiches Recht gilt wirklich für alle

“I’m not sure if anything will stick”—a lawyer with whom I spoke about the confiscation of Werner Beutelmeyer’s firearms was skeptical as to whether the administrative authorities or the police had overreacted.

One thing must be said for those in charge, however: they treated the rather prominent suspect just like any other fellow citizen.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Alexander Schwarzl, Markus Wenzel)

In a country like Austria, where “connections” are often more important than qualifications when filling positions, you wouldn’t necessarily expect that. For the disarmed hunter, the whole affair is unpleasant, but it’s good for the reputation of law enforcement and the judiciary.