Amok run in Austria: Mayor shot dead, perpetrator on the run
Rohrbach (Upper Austria) - On Monday morning, the residents of the Rohrbach district were woken up by gunshots! A suspected hunter is running amok and has already shot several people on his escape.
The police were first alerted at around 8.30 a.m. after residents heard gunshots. When the emergency services arrived, they found a dead body in a meadow in the neighboring community.
According to reports from the Austrian agency APA, the victim was the incumbent mayor of Kirchberg ob der Donau, Franz Hofer (†64, ÖVP).
During his escape, the perpetrator shot another person. This was a pensioner who, like the mayor, was a hunting guide.
Residents hole up in their homes
The search for the perpetrator has been in full swing ever since. In addition to the police, the Cobra special task force is also involved in the manhunt with armored vehicles and helicopters.
Allegedly there is also a third victim, but this report has not yet been confirmed by the police.
Officers have called on residents of the surrounding communities to barricade themselves in their homes, as the perpetrator is considered extremely dangerous.
The Upper Austrian police have now published an official mugshot of the perpetrator. The hunter is believed to be 56-year-old Roland D.. He is probably currently on the road in his car, a silver VW Caddy with the license plate RO-231EL.
Dispute over hunting rights as the cause?
The motive of the perpetrator has not yet been determined with certainty. However, it is suspected that a dispute over hunting rights could be the cause.
In recent years, the suspected perpetrator and the mayor are said to have increasingly reported each other. This feud could have been the trigger for this heinous act of bloodshed.