Police solve four Halloween candy tampering cases

Austrian police have solved four of 21 reported cases involving Halloween sweets allegedly fitted with metal objects, with children believed to have altered the treats themselves, ORF reported Thursday. In three cases, they reportedly wanted to frighten their parents; in another, an online challenge was intended to mislead police.

The cases were reported in Vienna, Upper Austria and Styria: one in each of the first two regions and two in Styria. The remaining 17 reports are still under investigation.

By Thursday morning, police had recorded seven cases in Styria, six in Lower Austria, four in Upper Austria, three in Vienna and one in Salzburg. The reports came from the districts of Leibnitz, Weiz, Gleisdorf and Murtal in Styria; Amstetten, Melk and Bruck an der Leitha in Lower Austria; and Linz and Vöcklabruck in Upper Austria, as well as the city of Salzburg.

The national criminal police office said investigators were examining each report and looking for possible links. They are also pursuing leads to determine whether other cases stemmed from online challenges, warning messages or different motives.

Police warned people not to copy online challenges or treat tampering with sweets as a joke, saying such actions could have criminal consequences.