Eleven convictions

Vigilante Justice: Brutal Act of Violence Against a Teenager

The violent incident took place at Wonkaplatz near the Aspernstraße subway station.(Bild: Krone-Collage/Krone, Krone KREATIV)

A bus driver was dragged down a flight of stairs and injured following an altercation with teenagers in Vienna. Now the 57-year-old is in the dock alongside eleven teenagers, some of whom were brought in from pretrial detention. Together with his son, he is alleged to have incited a revenge attack against the perpetrators—which escalated into massive violence and a horrific rape. Sentences were handed down on Tuesday.

“On October 6, 2025, something very, very terrible happened. It’s almost impossible to imagine,” the prosecutor began last week at the Vienna Regional Court. Once again, this is a case of vigilante justice.

After a bus driver got into an argument with some youths in Donaustadt the day before and was dragged down a flight of stairs and injured by them, his son is said to have rounded up friends to seek revenge. “This is a group of violent offenders,” the prosecutor reported, noting that some of the youths have ties to ISIS or are active in the ‘pedo-hunter’ scene. The youngest was 14 years old at the time of the crime; the oldest is 19.

Robbery, rape, coercion, assault
The gang set out to find the bus driver’s attackers and eventually tracked down three of the boys who had been involved the previous day. As numerous videos show, they severely beat them and also robbed them. The teenager who had filmed the attack on the bus driver suffered the worst of it.

On October 6, 2025, something very, very terrible happened. It’s almost impossible to imagine.

Der Staatsanwalt ist schockiert

The gang raped the minor with an object and filmed it. “Laughter and jeering can be heard in the background,” says the prosecutor. The victim was also further humiliated by being forced to say aloud during the rape, “I like it, Daddy.”

Eleven convictions and one acquittal
Eleven teenagers are on trial—eight boys and three girls charged with various offenses—along with the 57-year-old bus driver, who is alleged to have instigated the counterattack. The client of attorney Normann Hofstätter pleads not guilty: “Something terrible happened to him as well. He was dragged down the stairs and ended up in the hospital with injuries. He had other things on his mind than plotting revenge,” says Hofstätter.

Something terrible happened to him as well. He had other things on his mind than plotting revenge.

Normann Hofstätter vertritt den Busfahrer

Bild: Richter Anja

The verdicts were handed down on Tuesday: The bus driver was acquitted. The two teenage ringleaders were sentenced to three and two-and-a-half years of unsuspended imprisonment, respectively. Nine other teenagers received sentences ranging from six months of suspended imprisonment to 30 months of partially suspended imprisonment. None of the decisions are final.

By the way: The case regarding the attack on the bus driver is being handled separately and will be heard in Vienna on Wednesday. The man who is now the accused will then appear as the victim in that case.