Cobra operation in Bregenz: Shot 24-year-old allegedly threatened mother and police with a knife

Operation course with de-escalation attempts

The operation itself apparently progressed through several stages of escalation. Initially, there were de-escalation attempts by police before the Cobra task force was called in. The officers ultimately saw themselves forced to use firearms, with the 24-year-old being injured. No further details have been released about his current state of health.

In addition to the knife threat, the question of possible further weapons possession by the man is now moving to the center of the investigations. As emerges from the findings so far, the suspect had a soft gun with him during the operation in Bregenz. Whether he was additionally in possession of further firearms is the subject of ongoing investigations.

Possible further weapons in focus

The Feldkirch public prosecutor's office is conducting the investigations in close coordination with the state's criminal investigators. Dragosits emphasized that no final conclusions could be drawn at this point in time. However, it is important to follow up on all leads in order to fully clarify what happened.

The incident has attracted supra-regional attention in Vorarlberg, since operations involving the use of firearms by special units such as Cobra are rare in Austria. Police and justice face the task of comprehensively reconstructing both the circumstances of the firearms use and the background of the 24-year-old.

Presence of the son in the household

Meanwhile, it became known that the man's son was present in his mother's household at the time of the incidents. This also flows into the investigations, as it must be clarified to what extent the child was exposed to the threatening situations. The authorities have so far been reticent on this and referred to the ongoing state of the investigation.

Investigations not yet completed

The police stressed that the de-escalation attempts prior to the firearms use had been documented. Everything had been done to bring about a non-violent solution. Only when these attempts remained unsuccessful and there was an immediate danger to the deployed forces or third parties was the firearm used.

Investigations into the exact sequence of events and into possible further weapons belonging to the suspect are ongoing. The Feldkirch public prosecutor's office announced that it would provide timely information once new findings became available. Until then, the presumption of innocence applies to the 24-year-old, Dragosits emphasized.