Prosecutors examine self-defence in fatal Bad Vöslau shooting

Prosecutors are investigating whether a police officer acted in self-defence when he shot and killed a 40-year-old man in Bad Vöslau, Lower Austria, after the man allegedly seriously injured his partner with a knife, ORF reported.

The officer reportedly fired several shots during the police operation on Wednesday. The Investigation and Complaints Office for Allegations of Ill-Treatment, which is examining the incident, said this was not unusual because a single shot often has no effect and police firearms deployments involving only one shot are rare.

The Wiener Neustadt public prosecutor’s office has commissioned an expert report to reconstruct the shooting distance and bullet trajectories. The officer who fired the shots is being treated as a suspect in connection with the man’s death, as is customary in such cases. Investigators must determine whether the use of the firearm was lawful and whether a self-defence situation existed.

The exact course of the operation is still being investigated. Witnesses, including neighbours who alerted police, are yet to be questioned. The dead man was an Austrian citizen aged 40. His 27-year-old partner allegedly suffered several stab wounds and was seriously injured.

According to prosecutors, police had previously responded to incidents involving the couple, who were apparently known to the authorities. A post-mortem examination of the man has been ordered. The officer who fired the fatal shots is currently off duty.

Police firearms use has declined slightly in recent years. There were 65 such incidents across Austria in 2020, in which two people were killed. In the previous year, 54 incidents were recorded and one person died. The Investigation and Complaints Office operates under the Federal Bureau for Corruption Prevention and Anti-Corruption and has been responsible for investigating police firearms use since January 2024.