A manhunt is currently being conducted in the northern region of Austria after a hunter is alleged to have fatally shot two individuals and subsequently fled the scene, as reported by the local police authorities on Monday.
The mayor of Kirchberg ob der Donau, Franz Hofer, was tragically killed in the village of Altenfelden, situated in the rural Muhlviertel region of Austria, close to the borders of Germany and the Czech Republic.
A second man was also shot dead a short while later, Upper Austria police spokesperson Ulrike Handelbauer told CNN.
A large-scale police operation with helicopters and special forces is underway, she said.
Police said Roland Drexler, 56, is suspected of having killed the two men and made a getaway in a Volkswagen Caddy. “The man is believed to be extremely dangerous and armed,” police said.
In this video grab provided by PULS 24 News TV, police vehicles and a police helicopter operate in the village of Fraunschalg near Altenfelden, Austria, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, after people were fatally shot in the area. (PULS 24 News TV via AP)
A dispute over hunting rights appeared to have sparked the incident, police added. It was not immediately clear why a long-running feud had escalated.
According to Kronen Zeitung, a local outlet, the suspect was known to hunters in the area. “He was a difficult person,” said a hunter from the area who wished not to be named.
The shooting shocked officials at the People’s Party (OVP) regional headquarters in Linz. “It’s madness,” said state party leader Florian Hiegelsperger.
Herbert Sieghartsleitner, the state hunting master, said the incident was “unbelievable.”
“I am deeply shocked by what has happened. I knew Franz Hofer very well personally,” he said, according to Kronen Zeitung.
