"Unimaginable"

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 sitting in the dock alongside eleven youths, some of whom are being brought in from pretrial detention. He is accused of, together with his son, inciting a revenge attack against the perpetrators—an attack that escalated into massive violence and a horrific rape.

“On October 6, 2025, something very, very terrible happened. It’s almost impossible to imagine,” the prosecutor began in 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 alleged 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.”

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

Bus Driver Charged Along with Habitual Juvenile Offenders
Eleven teenagers—eight boys and three girls charged with various offenses—and the 57-year-old bus driver, who is alleged to have instigated the retaliation, are on trial. 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. The case is adjourned.

By the way: The case regarding the attack on the bus driver is being handled separately and will be heard next Wednesday in Vienna. There, the man who is now facing charges will appear as the victim.

Just last Thursday, the “Krone” reported on a case in Vienna in which a father and his brothers took revenge on his son’s tormentors.