Gang fights in Vienna: Major manhunt after brawl

While the dispute on Friday and Saturday in Brigittenau ended relatively harmlessly, four people were seriously injured on Sunday evening. Three men suffered stab wounds and one man suffered a head injury from blunt force trauma, said police spokesman Philipp Haßlinger. A large-scale manhunt for the perpetrators is underway.

Rival groups

According to the police, all three incidents are directly related to one another. According to APA information, the attackers are said to be rival Chechen, Syrian and Afghan groups. The police did not want to confirm this. According to spokesman Haßlinger, the men came to a meeting at the U6 Meidling station (formerly Philadelphiabrücke) with knives, sticks and poles. They attacked each other on the forecourt, where the buses leave. The reason for the argument is still the subject of investigations. Most of those involved ran away after the attack. Some of the men were said to have been masked, a police statement later said.

The search for the perpetrators was still ongoing on Sunday. As the Vienna State Police Directorate announced in a press release after midnight, a police helicopter was also deployed as part of the “extensive search measures”. The four injured were taken to hospitals. They will then be questioned during the night or on Monday. Preliminary investigations are also being conducted against them. The State Criminal Police Office has taken over the case.

First meeting on Friday

Late Friday evening, the rival groups probably met for the first time. Shots were suddenly fired in Anton Kummerer Park. Two young Syrians were shot, and a Chechen was apparently slightly injured by a knife. The young men involved in the brawl apparently entered the park with firearms, knives, pepper spray and blunt weapons. Five parked cars were also damaged by firearm projectiles. After the altercation, most of the participants from both groups fled, as they did now. Several weapons were confiscated.

Late on Saturday evening and into the night on Sunday, the next operation took place in the area of ​​Klosterneuburger Strasse, Anton-Kummerer-Park and Hannovermarkt, after witnesses had seen armed men and alerted the police. Two knives and pepper spray were confiscated during identity checks, but no crimes were committed.