The police reported a bomb threat, which has also been received in recent days at train stations in Graz, Linz, Salzburg, St. Pölten and Klagenfurt. The threat – it was sent to the state police headquarters – came via email around 5 p.m. and train traffic was interrupted.
Since Monday, train stations in Graz, Linz, Salzburg, St. Pölten and Klagenfurt have been temporarily closed due to bomb threats. Based on the content of the letters, the police assume that the same author was at work in all cases, it was said on Thursday from Lower Austria. Interconnected investigations are ongoing. If the investigation occurs, the author could face several years in prison.
The investigation is now largely carried out by the state offices for state security and combating extremism (LSE) in conjunction with the State Security and Intelligence Directorate (DSN). The criminal law was initially based on dangerous threats and coercion. Details were only sparsely disclosed, also for tactical reasons.
Also a threat against Schwechat Airport
In Lower Austria it became known on Thursday that there had also been a threat against Vienna Airport in Schwechat (Bruck ad Leitha district) on Wednesday around 11 p.m. This was sent to the airport via the contact form. The message was “very vague” and offered “very little information,” said police spokesman Johann Baumschlager when asked. A report was made and criminal investigators from the Schwechat City Police Command are working on identifying the perpetrator. “But we do not assume that the sender actually poses a threat,” Baumschlager stated. A connection with the bomb threats against the train stations is also “almost certainly” ruled out.
The Lower Austria State Police Department warned that the bomb threats cannot be viewed as a trivial offense. If investigated, the authors could be charged with dangerous threats (punishment generally up to one year) or coercion (punishment up to three years), Baumschlager told the APA.