Twelve years in prison

Shots fired at contractors: “They should get lost”

The 53-year-old Viennese man was anything but satisfied with his workers.(Bild: Sophie Pratschner, Krone KREATIV)

Because a Viennese homeowner was unhappy with both the renovation work being done by Romanian workers and the price, he reached for a gun. The 53-year-old now stands before the jury on two counts of attempted murder and says, “Those were warning shots. I wanted them to finally get lost.” The lay judges don’t see it that way, at least on one point...

With a large stack of handwritten notes, the defendant, flanked by two court officers, marches into the Vienna courtroom. He answers the questions regarding his personal details in a firm voice. And even before the judge asks, the 53-year-old says resolutely: “I plead not guilty.”

Talked into repair work
Things took their course starting on November 19 of last year, when Romanian workers knocked on the defendant’s front door and offered to perform repairs on the single-family home in Vienna-Floridsdorf. “From the defendant’s perspective, this work was somewhat forced upon him,” says his defense attorney. And yet a price was agreed upon, and the workers got to work.

Emotional account in court
Until five days later, when the mood shifted: “It was never discussed that the roof would be repaired. I didn’t order that,” the 53-year-old describes with wild gestures in the Vienna Regional Court. Because they couldn’t agree on the price either, a dispute broke out. “He went absolutely berserk, almost violent,” says the defendant. Turning to the jury, he speaks of a dramatic scuffle. 

Shots rang out on November 24, 2025, through the neighborhood in the 21st district.(Bild: Stefan Steinkogler)

But by the time the trained marksman finally reached for his weapon, the situation had already calmed down. “He calmly goes down to the basement, opens a box, and takes out a handgun,” says the prosecutor. He loudly cocks the pistol—the workers run away. And the 53-year-old, who served as a professional soldier on several UN peacekeeping missions in the 1990s and goes shooting regularly, pulls the trigger.

I wanted them to finally get out of there.

53-jähriger Hausbesitzer

“I fired two warning shots,” the Floridsdorf resident stated during his trial for two counts of attempted murder. Because a ricochet from the first bullet struck one of the workers in the knee. The second bullet lodged in the C-pillar of a departing car—at head height. “We have to say it was pure luck that that pillar was there,” said the prosecutor.

“Warning shots” with a blood alcohol level of 1.4
The 53-year-old speaks plainly: “I wanted them to finally get out of here. The situation was so chaotic. I’m certainly not playing hide-and-seek with the workers on my property. I don’t want them to go into the house and rob my mother, who needs care.” Why didn’t he fire the warning shots into the air? “That’s dangerous because I don’t know where the bullet will land.”

What the defendant downplays in court: When he reached for the gun, the Viennese man had a blood alcohol level of 1.4. They had just been negotiating the price for the work in “a boozy atmosphere.” A practice hand grenade fuse was also found in the single-family home in Floridsdorf—a violation of the Weapons Act. “A friend gave that to me as a gift back in the ’90s.” Incidentally, he owned the pistol and other items legally.

Long prison sentence
The jury concluded: Warning shots aside—the 53-year-old at least accepted the risk that he might kill one of the fleeing workers. Specifically, the one sitting in the car. Thus, he faces twelve years in prison for simple attempted murder—not yet final. The lay judges ruled that the ricochet to the knee constituted negligent bodily injury.