It was a cinematic incident, the background of which puzzled investigators. The accused – a 32-year-old Dutch national – has now been found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to 20 years of unconditional imprisonment. In addition, he is to be admitted to an institution for sane, mentally abnormal lawbreakers. The judgment is not final.
The act took place on July 8, 2020 in Zell am See. The Dutchman fired eight shots at a 40-year-old Viennese. The victim survived despite the most serious injuries.
The two men are likely to have met in a shop for renting e-scooters in Pinzgau, where the Viennese-born apparently worked. The Dutchman, a locksmith and tattoo artist, had traveled to Zell am See to start a new life.
The incident occurred on the night of July 8th. The two men were traveling together in the Viennese’s car, apparently to pick up a friend of the Dutchman in Flintsbach am Inn in Bavaria. After driving about 200 meters, the two should have got into an argument, according to the accused, because the Viennese, contrary to his promise, did not want to drive him to Bavaria. According to the indictment, the Dutchman got out, went to the edge of the lane and fired at least seven shots from there at the Viennese, who was still behind the wheel. After a few meters of driving, the victim fell out of the car and remained on the sidewalk.
The shooter left the injured man behind and reloaded his handgun in his rented apartment just a few hundred meters away. Then he came back to the scene, heaved the 40-year-old into the trunk of the car and fired at least one more shot at him – which he denied in the process. Then he drove about eight kilometers into a forest, pushed the man down a steep embankment and left him lying in the rough terrain.
The Dutchman later drove back to his apartment, where the police showed up because he had lost his key card – obviously when the Viennese were invited into the trunk. When the officers found ammunition in the apartment, they arrested him. In the vicinity of the accommodation they also came across the Viennese’s car, in which the murder weapon lay in the passenger seat.
Despite the serious injuries, the victim managed to make an emergency call with his mobile phone. The emergency services were able to locate him using a mobile phone beacon. A police patrol found the man early in the morning. He was taken to the hospital with the rescue.
The defendant has been convicted 18 times in his home country, five of them for violent crimes. He was last released from prison in April 2020. At the end of June he rented an apartment in Zell am See to start a new life there and work as a tattoo artist, as he described.
The jury unanimously affirmed the question of an attempted murder and thus decided in favor of the indictment. The court awarded the Viennese a partial compensation of 66,000 euros. Victim attorney Stefan Rieder had demanded 70,000 euros.
At the beginning of the trial at the Salzburg Regional Court, the Dutchman admitted seven shots to the victim. He pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm, but not to attempted murder.
The expert prepared an unfavorable risk prognosis for the accused and modified his neuro-psychiatric report. Accordingly, the prerequisites for admission to an institution for mentally abnormal, sane lawbreakers would be met, he explained. (APA / Red)
