Graz, Linz, St. Pölten, Salzburg, Klagenfurt and Bregenz. There was a bomb threat in each of these cities in Austria last week. The authorities are investigating.
Vienna – A bomb threat almost every day: There was already an alarm in many major Austrian cities this week. On Monday, the main train station in Graz had to be closed for several hours. This followed on Tuesday in Linz and on Wednesday it hit the train stations in St. Pölten, Salzburg and Klagenfurt. Most recently, on Thursday, the train station in Bregenz was cordoned off over a large area due to a bomb threat and train traffic in the city on Lake Constance was interrupted.
Riot in Austria: Series of bomb threats against train stations in several major cities
The bomb threats have kept the authorities in Austria, where the FPÖ celebrated a “landslide victory” in last weekend’s election, on tenterhooks for days. At each of the locations, the police received a letter by email threatening that explosive devices could be detonated at the respective train station. The Austrian constitutional protection authorities are now involved in the investigation.
A spokesman for the Lower Austrian police told the German Press Agency in St. Pölten that the text of the bomb threats was very similar in all cases. It is also noticeable that so far only train stations in the Austrian state capitals have been affected. “We take the concerns very seriously,” emphasized the spokesman.
Police take every threat “very seriously”: Bomb threats in Austria
Police spokesman Johann Baumschlager also reported that the wording in the bomb threats against train stations in Austria was almost identical in all cases ORF. It is therefore assumed that there is a single perpetrator.
Even though no explosives have been found at any of the train stations so far, any threat is taken “very seriously”. He did not want to give any further details about the current status “in order not to jeopardize the investigation,” Baumschlager explained. However, the police spokesman warned possible imitators: A bomb threat is “a serious crime that carries high penalties under the Criminal Code.” The penalty range is up to three years in prison, Baumschlager continued.
Threat also against Vienna Airport: Police rule out connection to threats to the train station
On Thursday it also became known that Vienna Airport had also received a threat the day before. However, investigators are “almost certainly” ruling out a direct connection with the bomb threats against the train stations, the police said. “However, we do not assume that the sender actually poses a threat,” said a spokesman.
Just in August of this year, two people were arrested by police in Austria for planning attacks on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna. (ph/dpa)
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