Family father shot by ex-brother-in-law – victims still wanted to hide

Several shots rang out on Sunday in a residential area in Grünburg (Kirchdorf district) through the night. It was around one o’clock when the doorbell suddenly rang. The homeowner, Hermann F. (43), went to open it. His family slept upstairs: his two children (aged 10 and 12) from his relationship with his ex-wife, his new partner and their children (twins, aged nine).

It was his former brother-in-law who rang the bell: his ex-wife’s brother. According to the police, the 37-year-old initially threatened the man with a handgun, a Glock 47. However, the 43-year-old managed to close the door. But the attacker didn’t give up, shot several times at the fixed glass next to the front door and thus forcibly gained entry into the house. Then he fired several shots at his ex-brother-in-law who was looking for protection behind the front door – according to the police there were two to three shots in the neck and upper body. The children’s father – the niece and nephew of the alleged perpetrator – fell to the ground, seriously injured.

The suspect, who had driven his car from Ennsdorf, then fled by car. Neighbors were also awakened by the shots. Meanwhile, the girlfriend of the shot victim immediately called the emergency services. Rescue workers tried to revive the 43-year-old, but without success, he died at the scene. The Cobra took up pursuit of the fugitive and armed man. The officers were able to arrest the 37-year-old at his home address at 2:58 a.m. – he was transferred to Steyr Prison.

The investigation now raises the question of why. In his first interrogation, the alleged killer claimed that he did not agree at all with the way the 43-year-old was raising his two children. He didn’t want “the children to be like their father,” was the almost incomprehensible justification of the 37-year-old. The alleged shooter is said to have complained that his ex-brother-in-law was a “narcissist”. There was also talk yesterday of a smoldering custody conflict. The former couple has been divorced for several years, the two children lived with their father.

Andreas Pechatschek from the Steyr public prosecutor said it was not yet clear whether a custody procedure was pending. The suspect was slightly intoxicated when he was arrested with around 0.4 per mille. The blood will now be analyzed in the same way as the firearm seized from the ex-brother-in-law. The man legally acquired the pistol in January this year. According to the prosecutor, it cannot be said whether he did this in order to shoot his ex-brother-in-law on “Day X”. The suspect is due to be taken to jail today.

“No one understands”

The bloody deed was the dominant topic in Grünburg on Sunday. “It’s terrible and nobody understands it,” said Mayor Gerald Augustin. The victim was a hard-working man who lovingly took care of his children. “You saw her going for a walk and visiting the children’s carnival.” “I can’t imagine that the Grünburger who was shot was a bad father.” The community now wants to help the family “as far as possible”.