Austria shooting: At least three killed outside Linz restaurant

At least three people were killed outside a restaurant in the Austrian city of Linz on Thursday (May 7). According to a police spokesperson, the weapon used in the incident had been recovered. Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported that a man killed two women before killing himself. Emergency services have said that there is no danger to the public. The violent incident happened around 1:30 pm. The police have cordoned off the area.

“The deceased found at the scene were one male and two female persons,” Ulrike Handlbauer, a spokeswoman for Upper Austria state police, told national public broadcaster ORF. “Police cannot currently give any more detailed comments on the more specific circumstances of the motive or the identity of the deceased.”

According to Kronen Zeitung, the man, nearly 90-year-old allegedly shot his wife, also nearly 90, and his daughter, around 60, in front of the traditional Lüftner inn in Linz. He then committed suicide, shooting himself.

Witnesses describe horrific moment

The incident has shocked the residents and people nearby. One witness, Adelheit S. (84), who was sitting in the inn when the shots were fired, told the Kronen Zeitung, “There were so many shots.” She added that the restaurant was locked and she was only allowed to leave after half an hour.

One resident said, “Several people have already called me to ask if I'm still alive.”

Linz lies along the Danube River in the Upper Austria region of northern Austria, roughly midway between Salzburg and Vienna. The city has a population of over 200,000 residents.

Gun-related crime remains relatively uncommon in Austria, where about 0.2 people per 100,000 are killed by gunfire each year. That rate is more than 25 times lower than in the United States, though it is not among the very lowest in Europe.