Austria police find body after siege

[Hysteria]

18 September 2013 Last updated at 00:43 GMT

Austria police find body after siege

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The BBC's Bethany Bell says the gunman is believed dead

Austrian police have found a body they believe is a man suspected of shooting dead three policemen and a paramedic.

The charred body was discovered at the farmhouse where he lived near Melk, Lower Austria, after special forces stormed the building.

They searched the house for hours, as the suspect - named as Alois Huber, 55 - was reportedly heavily armed.

The drama began on Monday when officers tried to arrest the man on suspicion of poaching near the town of Annaberg.

'Secret room'

Police tried to stop his car, but the man reportedly opened fire after heading into a ditch, injuring a police officer who later died in hospital.

A paramedic was shot dead as he tried to help the officer, and a second policeman was injured.

The gunman then fled on foot, killing a second police officer and taking a third hostage.

He stole their police car and drove, with his captive, to his farmhouse, about 90km (55 miles) west of the capital Vienna.

Officials later discovered the body of the third policeman at the farm. A large section of the area was cordoned off.

About 100 special forces officers on armoured police vehicles were involved in the operation.

They eventually stormed the farmhouse after shots were fired at them.

The charred body was found in a "secret room" of the farmhouse, according to Austria's Krone newspaper.

Reports say that the suspect set himself on fire, but this has not been officially confirmed.

The BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna says there is a sense of shock in Austria.

Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner described the events as "unprecedented" in the history of the Austrian police.

She said the officers and the paramedic had "laid down their lives for our safety", expressing condolences to their families and colleagues.

 

[Hysteria]

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Austrian poacher dies in fire after killing four

AFP Updated September 18, 2013, 2:02 pm

VIENNA (AFP) - Austrian police pursuing a poacher who killed three police officers and a paramedic while fleeing arrest said Wednesday they believe they have found his charred remains in a hidden room at his farmhouse.

Hundreds of armed police backed by army tanks had surrounded the house since Tuesday, in a drama that broke out the day before when Alois Huber was stopped by commandos acting on a tip-off he was hunting illegally.

"Police officers wanted to open the door" to the hidden room but "fire broke out" said police spokesman Roland Scherscher in the early hours of Wednesday after a lengthy stand-off.

When the fire was brought under control "the charred body of a man, believed to be the poacher and murder suspect, was discovered" after a five-hour operation, he added.

"It is one of the saddest days," a visibly emotional Scherscher told reporters earlier Tuesday of the four killings.

The three slain police officers were aged between 38 and 51 while the dead Red Cross paramedic was said to be 70.

The paramedic, Johann Dorfwirth, had received numerous awards during a long career, local Red Cross chief Willi Sauer said.

The deadly drama began Monday when elite "Cobra" force commandos attempted to stop Huber, a well-known poacher, in his car near the town of Annaberg.

He drove through a road block and opened fire, fatally shooting one of the police commandos in the neck.

Less than an hour later, while the commando was still receiving medical treatment, he opened fire again, killing the driver of an ambulance called to the scene and injuring a second policeman.

The suspect, who owns a small transport company, then fled on foot, travelling several kilometres before firing at two other police officers, killing one on the spot and taking the other hostage.

He stole their police car and drove, with his captive, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) to his farmhouse at Grosspriel near the city of Melk.

Police said on Tuesday that the dead body of the officer taken hostage had been found in the police car in a shed at the farm.

The house had been surrounded since around 7:00 am (0500 GMT) Tuesday by around 100 police as Huber, who had an arsenal of hunting guns, continued to fire at them.

He legally owned several weapons and a hoard of ammunition, and reports said among his firearms was a powerful hunting rifle able to pierce protective clothing.

Hunting is a popular pastime in Austria. Huber was well known locally for defying police and licensed hunters, often leaving the heads of dead animals on roads.

Huber was said to have had his hunting licence revoked several years ago following a brawl with other hunters in the area.

He was particularly fond of deer trophies, but his own land had no deer on it -- leading to the persistent acts of poaching, other local hunters said.