After days of a manhunt in Upper Austria, the search for the suspected gunman ended: police found the 56-year-old dead in a wooded area on Saturday.
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- The search for the 56-year-old suspected gunman in Upper Austria ended on Saturday.
- He was found dead by investigators in a forest near Arnreit.
- His vehicle was discovered in a wooded area on Friday, prompting police to search the area intensively.
- According to the police, there was no exchange of gunfire and the exact circumstances are to be explained at a press conference this afternoon.
The intensive search for the amok hunter from Austria has now come to an end. On Friday, there appeared to be a breakthrough for the first time: A witness discovered the car of the suspected rampage hunter in a wooded area in Upper Austria. However, news of the dramatic end to the manhunt followed on Saturday - the 56-year-old was found dead.
According to a report in the "Oberösterreichische Nachrichten" newspaper, investigators confirmed that the wanted man had been discovered lifeless in a forest in the municipality of Arnreit. The police made it clear that there had been no exchange of fire. The special unit of the Rapid Intervention Group (SIG) found the body while searching the area. A police press conference is to provide further details on the case this afternoon.
His car was found on Friday
The day before, police spokesman Michael Babl had told the "Kronen Zeitung" that the gunman was "probably still alive". However, this assumption turned out to be wrong.
It is currently unclear how long his white VW Caddy had been parked in the woods between the Arnreit and Altenfelden crime scenes. Investigators assume that the car was not parked there the whole time. The search operation focused on the extensive wooded area where the vehicle was discovered.
"It is being searched piece by piece. Of course, as you can imagine, there are quite a few hiding places. It's easy to find shelter there. That's why we search sheds, huts, etc.," explained Babl. He gave no further details about possible accomplices or the contents of the car.
400 tips from the public
Over the past few days, the police have received around 400 tips from the public. The hunter's getaway car had already been seized yesterday. One of the questions that still needs to be clarified is the whereabouts of the suspect over the past few days.
The area around the crime scenes had been searched for days by a large police contingent. Around 250 officers combed through the sometimes very confusing area. They proceeded with extreme caution. "We assumed we were dealing with a very dangerous adversary," said the spokesperson for a special unit.