Police release images after Wels tobacconist robbery

Police are seeking a man suspected of robbing a tobacconist’s shop in Wels after the Wels public prosecutor’s office released images of him, ORF reported. The man allegedly threatened a 61-year-old employee with metal scissors and took cash.

The suspect entered the shop in Wels’s Lichtenegg district at about 9.40am on Wednesday and demanded money. The employee handed over cash from the till, and he fled south. A search has so far been unsuccessful. The woman was not injured but suffered shock, police said.

Police described the man as about 180 to 185 centimetres tall, with a medium to stocky build. He spoke German without an accent and has a distinctive tattoo on the inside of his right forearm. He was wearing a woollen hat with eye slits during the robbery.

The Upper Austrian Economic Chamber has offered a 1,000-euro reward for information leading to the suspect’s identification. The Upper Austrian State Criminal Police Office is investigating.