A 38-year-old Hungarian man was shot by police in Lower Austria on Thursday morning after allegedly attacking officers and a railway emergency coordinator. He was taken to hospital and is not in a life-threatening condition.
The incident took place near the Westbahn railway line in Michelhausen, in the Tulln district, shortly before 10.30am, according to Austrian broadcaster ORF and Hungarian news outlet Telex.
Police were alerted after the driver of a freight train spotted a man near the tracks who appeared to be confused. He reported the situation to the railway company, whose employee subsequently called the emergency services and requested police assistance.
According to the Lower Austrian police, the 38-year-old Hungarian citizen behaved extremely aggressively towards the officers who arrived at the scene and the railway company’s emergency coordinator. He allegedly attacked them, prompting the officers to use pepper spray.
However, the man reportedly launched another attack, after which one of the police officers fired a shot, injuring him.
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Man taken to hospital, investigation launched
The injured man received emergency medical treatment at the scene before being transported to the University Hospital in Tulln. He was not in a life-threatening condition, according to the information available at the time of reporting.
The circumstances of the shooting are now being investigated by Austria’s Investigation and Complaints Office for Allegations of Abuse (EBM), together with staff from the Lower Austrian State Criminal Police Office. The latter’s teams responsible for investigating offences against life and physical integrity, as well as crime scene investigations, have also taken over the case.
No further details about the shooting had been made public at the time of the initial reports.
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Westbahn line closed for several hours
The incident also caused significant disruption to rail services. The affected section of the new Westbahn line was closed for several hours to allow investigators to examine the scene and collect evidence.
According to Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), services on the line resumed shortly after 3pm.
The disruption affected passenger services, with some long-distance trains being diverted onto the older Westbahn route during the early afternoon. However, that line had also experienced an interruption earlier in the morning due to an operational problem near Neulengbach station.
The shooting is being investigated by the relevant Austrian authorities.
