The 59-year-old post commander of the Trieben police station died on Monday morning from his serious gunshot wounds. A colleague (46) shot him. The small industrial town is in shock. That’s what the Triebeners say.
Excitement is in the air in shoots on this cold Monday morning. Around 3000 inhabitants live in the Upper Styrian industrial town, known above all for its motorway service area. Serious-faced pensioners peer through the glass pane of the bank opposite the police station. A red and white barrier tape surrounds the building complex, next to it are police cars and camera teams. The post commander died here shortly before 8 a.m. He was only 59 years old. Two bullets from his 46-year-old colleague’s service weapon, a Glock 17, hit the officer in the head and stomach. “A few of the police officers are regular customers with us,” says a tobacconist whose shop is only a few meters away from the inspection. On the glass door is the announcement for the next bargain, workers and pensioners are buying cigarettes and playing the lottery. “There’s a commotion, yes, the rumor mill is bubbling,” says the tobacconist. “But we didn’t hear anything, just that a lot of police cars drove past.” Top topic of conversation in town There’s also a lot of talk in a coffee house on the outskirts of town. A group of pensioners read an online article out loud. “The 59-year-old succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the crime… – well, there you can see again what is being said!” Says a woman. On Monday, however, most Triebeners pass the police inspection with a respectful distance and big eyes. There is disbelief at the death of the 59-year-old police officer, who leaves behind three daughters and a partner. In Lassing, the home town of the deceased, there is also a “shock state”, as Mayor Engelbert Schaunitzer puts it. Mayor Helmut Schöttl was deeply moved when the “crown” reached him: “They were my colleagues,” said the local manager, who himself works for the police. “I don’t want to say more about it…” Federal Minister Gerhard Karner also expresses his “deeply felt sympathy, his sympathy and support” to the relatives of the killed police officer: “My thoughts and my deepest felt sympathy are with the family in these difficult hours and the survivors of our Styrian colleague.”
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