Officials: It was self-defense

Fatal police shooting: Murder investigation

Heribert W. (65) hopes for clarification of the circumstances that led to the death of his son Martin.(Bild: FOTOKERSCHI / WERNER KERSCHBAUMM)

A drug addict (27) is said to have attacked two police officers in Linz with a syringe and scissors; he was killed. The two officers claim they acted solely in self-defense. However, the district attorney’s office is still awaiting key expert reports.

In the case of Martin W. (27), who was shot and killed by two police officers on April 16 in an apartment in Linz-Auwiesen, the investigation is still in full swing. “We are waiting for the final report,” confirms Ulrike Breiteneder of the Linz Public Prosecutor’s Office.

We want to know: What actually happened in the apartment that day—and how does it fit into the legal framework?

Ulrike Breiteneder, Sprecherin der StA Linz

Several expert reports are still pending. “Among other things, the autopsy report and the results of the chemical-toxicological examination—we want to know whether the deceased was under the influence of substances at the time of the incident,” says Breiteneder.

The report from the expert on weapons, ammunition, explosives, and criminology is likely to be particularly significant. This could be decisive in determining whether the officers will be charged and have to answer for their actions in court. Incidentally, the investigation is no longer focused on assault resulting in death (§86), but rather on murder (§75).

Both police officers have since issued a written statement in which they express regret over W.’s death but also assert that they could not have acted differently. The 27-year-old is said to have attacked them with a syringe and scissors.

“I very much hope that charges will at least be filed; after all, a human life is at stake,” emphasizes Heribert W., the deceased’s father.