Cobra operation in Bregenz: 68-year-old allegedly threatened with a blank-firing pistol

Following the verbal altercation, the suspect went into his partner's apartment. The other parties involved followed him in order to confront him again. They subsequently left the entrance area of the apartment.

Cobra deployment

The alerted Cobra, the special operations unit of the Austrian police, then arrived on the scene. The officers of the Cobra tactical unit were able to locate the 68-year-old in the apartment shortly thereafter.

According to police, the man behaved cooperatively and handed over the blank-firing pistol along with the ammunition to the officers without resistance. He then voluntarily accompanied the police to the Bregenz police station to be questioned there.

Weapons ban and criminal complaint

As the police report indicates, a weapons ban was already in place against the 68-year-old. He will now be reported to the Feldkirch public prosecutor's office for several offenses. According to police, a blank-firing pistol was involved – a weapon that fires gas or blank cartridges and falls under Austria's Weapons Act.

The exact background of the neighborhood dispute is not yet known. The investigations by the Feldkirch public prosecutor's office and the Bregenz police are ongoing.

Background: When is Cobra deployed?

Cobra is typically called in when there is an elevated risk for the officers or uninvolved third parties – for instance, in cases involving weapons or acute threat situations. According to police, the fact that the suspect acted cooperatively in this case significantly facilitated the operation.