Wife and daughter dead

Shooting in Linz! Several dead outside a restaurant

Double murder and suicide in Linz: Police set up privacy screens and tents in the parking lot. The area was cordoned off over a wide radius.(Bild: FOTOKERSCHI / WERNER KERSCHBAUMM, Krone KREATIV)

Another horrific homicide in the capital of Upper Austria! On Thursday afternoon, a double murder followed by a suicide took place in front of a restaurant in Linz. The shooter was the father and husband of the two victims.

According to initial reports, an 88-year-old Austrian man shot his wife (89) and his daughter (61) in front of the traditional Lüftner restaurant in Linz-Urfahr and then killed himself. According to emergency responders, there is no danger to the public. Although the murder weapon was recovered in the parking lot, another detail is shocking: it is a World War II-era weapon—the retiree had been in illegal possession of this P38.

As the “Krone” learned, an inheritance dispute may be behind the bloody crime. A suicide note was also recovered.

The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. Police set up a privacy screen and tents in the parking lot. The area was cordoned off over a wide radius.

“There were a lot of shots”
During the “Krone”’s on-site visit, it became clear: The Urfahr district is in shock; residents were frightened and wanted to get home quickly. One resident said: “Several people have already called me to ask if I’m still alive.”

Adelheid S. (84) described: “There were a lot of shots. The landlady’s face turned bright red, and she immediately locked everything up.” She was sitting in the restaurant when the shots were fired.

Several people have already called me to ask if I’m still alive.

Ein ganzer Stadtteil steht unter Schock.

She wasn’t allowed to leave the restaurant until half an hour later. But the only way out was to the right. To the left, in the parking lot, a horrific sight greeted her: the three dead bodies lay there. Patrons had to leave their cars in the parking lot and walk home or be picked up by relatives.

Third violent crime since March
This is already the third violent crime to have occurred on the open street in Linz since March. In the first bloody incident, a passerby was stabbed on Landstraße, and a second was seriously injured. A few weeks later—in April—the next atrocity followed: At the Südbahnhof, a man struck a security guard on the head with a hatchet, seriously injuring him. Just a few days later, a man was shot and killed by an officer in an apartment. The officer had to act in self-defense—the man was armed with scissors and a syringe.

Mayor Dietmar Prammer (SPÖ) and the responsible city councilor Michael Raml (FPÖ) subsequently invited representatives from law enforcement as well as the prevention and social services sectors to a security summit on May 11.

Reports of (possible) suicides can exacerbate the situation for people in crisis. There are crisis hotlines throughout Austria that offer advice and support in times of crisis.