Robbery in Vienna: Armed perpetrator escapes with cigarettes!

Robbery in Vienna: Armed perpetrator escapes with cigarettes!

Wien, Österreich - in Vienna there was a serious incident when a 23-year-old girl was attacked by an armed man in a shop. The incident occurred today, on April 18, 2025, when the young woman asked the perpetrator to leave the business after asked for money. The man reacted aggressively, showed the employee a firearm that was in his waistband, and stepped behind the sales play.

In the further course of the argument, the robber beat the employee with the elbow and tried to get to the cash register. However, this attempt was interrupted by the women's call for help to their boss. In the hustle and bustle, the perpetrator took two rods cigarettes and fled in an unknown direction. Unfortunately, the police that were initiated immediately remained unsuccessful.

Investigations and the description of the perpetrator

The State Criminal Police Office Vienna has taken over the investigation into this attack. The perpetrator is described as 25 to 30 years old, about 1.80 meters tall and wore a black hood, an FFP2 mask, a dark jacket and light trousers. Equalizable information can be submitted anonymously at any police station or on telephone number 01-31310-57800. Such an attack that falls under theft with weapons is a qualified theft in accordance with Section 244 of the Criminal Code.

In the context of the legal consideration, it should be noted that for theft with weapons (Section 244 (1) No. 1a) is not necessary that the weapon is used during the crime. The mere possession of a firearm already leads to a more severe punishment, since there is an increased risk of escalation. The perpetrator's intended procedure is therefore not only extremely serious from the legal side, but also represents a significant threat to the security of the public.

context of crime

This incident in Vienna falls into a broader social context, because the police crime statistics (PKS) recently presented for 2023. This shows an increase in registered crimes by 5.5 percent to 5.9 million compared to the previous year, which means the highest number of cases since 2016. The increase in robberies, knife attacks and domestic violence, all of which have increased by 8.6 percent, is particularly worrying. Overall, the number of suspects rose to almost 2.25 million.

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser described the increase in violent crime as "unacceptable" and announced a consistent procedure for the police. The increase in crime is influenced by various factors. While some politicians list "too much uncontrolled migration" as the main cause, others refer to the poor equipment of the police and lack of staff. The test results also indicate that the return to normality according to the Corona restrictions and the associated social and economic stress by inflation must be regarded as possible drivers for this worrying trend.