Blank gun in a robbery: BGH decides on dangerous threat!

Blank gun in a robbery: BGH decides on dangerous threat!

In a recent incident in Austria, an inebriated 18-year-old robbed a gas station in November. He threatened the gas station attendant with a blank gun while he was making a payment at the checkout and fled on foot with cash. The perpetrator was quickly arrested near the crime scene in Dunkelstein. During his arrest, in addition to the blank pistol, a combat knife and the stolen cash were seized. The man confessed to the crime and was taken to the Wiener Neustadt prison. This reported noe.ORF.at.

A similar case dealt with the judiciary in Germany, where a defendant broke into a bank branch and demanded cash with a loaded blank pistol. “Give me the money, this is a robbery, give me the money now, otherwise I'll shoot!” he threatened the bank employees. Although it could not be proven whether the weapon was loaded with gas or blank ammunition, the threat was taken seriously. The defendant was able to escape with an amount of 34,840 DM and was later convicted of aggravated extortion. Particularly noteworthy is the legal classification of blank firing pistols, which have been classified as dangerous tools by the Federal Court of Justice. The court ruled that the threat of a loaded blank gun was serious under certain circumstances. This classification could have far-reaching consequences for similar cases in the future, such as Law Online reported.

The legal regulations surrounding blank firing pistols were intensively discussed in both cases. While the case in Austria illustrates the danger of handling such weapons, the German case brings with it the need for a clear legal classification. Blank pistols could be considered equivalent to sharp weapons in the eyes of the law, which could have significant consequences for law enforcement.