The police arrived with heavy equipment to rescue him. On Holy Saturday, the situation turned out to be “very serious”: the package “could have potentially caused major damage,” said police spokesman Markus Lamb.
The initially suspicious object was found around 8:30 p.m. by members of the religious community in the entrance area of a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. They called the police, who immediately cordoned off the area and called in explosives experts (SKO). Explosives detection dogs and the emergency response unit (BE) were also deployed.
X-ray machines and robots
During an initial assessment, it could not be ruled out that it was actually an explosive device. Therefore, the defusing service (ESD) of the Directorate for Special Forces (DSE) was also called in. The approximately 50 people who were in the building had to be brought to safety as a precaution. They were driven to the fire department and given first aid and care by the Red Cross and the crisis intervention team. Nobody got hurt.
The specialists then approached the package using X-ray machines and a robot. Even then, no all-clear could be given. Defusal specialists seized the package and took it to a remote location. A special device weighing around four tons with an explosive suppression system was used for the removal, which has been in use by the police since Holy Week of the previous year. The rescue took almost all night.
“Consciously discarded”
“The package was apparently deliberately placed there,” Lamb told APA on Saturday morning. By the afternoon, the suspicion had been confirmed: “It is an unconventional, self-made, but fundamentally functional explosive device.” Forensic scientists will now carry out further chemical analyzes and secure traces of the explosive device. For tactical reasons, details about the construction, the explosives used or the amount of explosives are deliberately not disclosed.
A connection with the two explosive devices at Jehovah’s Witnesses in Leibnitz from the previous year cannot still be ruled out, said Lamb. A possible connection is still being examined. In the case of the Leibnitz explosive devices, there is no new information. The investigations would continue. An initial suspicion of a suspected person at the time was not confirmed. There have been no new leads since then, Lamb said.
Mayor Manfred Komericky, himself a former member of Cobra, said in an APA interview on Holy Saturday that the emergency services had handled the situation very well: “There were enough forces there. The police, fire brigade and rescue were very professional,” he emphasized. The operation was also tricky because the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kalsdorf is located in a residential area. The religious community has been anchored in the market town for several decades and “there have never been any difficulties,” said the mayor. He spoke of a “cooperative relationship”.
Backgrounds are being investigated
The Styrian State Office for State Security and Combating Extremism (LSE) is now investigating the background. Interviews are carried out and, above all, the explosive device is examined closely for traces that the perpetrator or perpetrators may have left behind during construction. In addition to the already increased presence over the Easter holidays, additional protective measures were taken for all Jehovah’s Witnesses’ properties. The police are also asking the public to pay more attention: Any suspicious sightings or objects should be reported immediately via emergency number 133.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses said they were happy that no one was harmed and that the police took the matter very seriously from the start. The religious community now looks after its members because “that does something to everyone,” a spokesman told the APA. Some were shocked and of course it was “worrying”. Incidentally, the event was a regular service, as is held twice a week by Jehovah’s Witnesses. The celebrations surrounding the religious community’s highest holiday, the day of Jesus Christ’s death, calculated according to the ancient Jewish calendar, had already taken place the previous week on March 24th.
