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07. 09. 10. - 15:00

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07. 09. 10. - 15:00

Special police unit mistake tourists for burglars

Bungling police may face an enquiry after firing warning shots at two holidaymakers trying to fuel their car who they thought were burglars last night (Mon).

Police in the province of Tyrol decided to assign a team of plain-clothes officers to be at the ready for possible action after a series of night-time burglary alarms at the A13 Brenner motorway petrol station.

The station was broken into in July and several automatic alarms left police puzzled. Officials eventually ordered a special unit to be present at the nearest police station around the clock to find out if gangs planned to burglarise it again – or whether the alarms were going off because of a technical failure.

Plain-clothes officers spotted two men running away from the Matreiwald petrol station when they rushed to the station after the alarm went off once more last night. Assuming the pair were burglars, the policemen took up the chase by foot. Authorities said the officers fired warning shots thinking the fleeing pals were criminals.

One of the German tourists, a 19-year-old man, broke his left arm when he fell on the concrete floor while being chased. His 17-year-old friend sustained bruises to his left shinbone.

The young men said in police interviews after the incident they could not understand the officers’ calls, asking them to stop and inform them they were from the police.

The shocked holidaymakers said they had gone to the closed station to check whether it was possible to fuel their vehicle using a bank card.

Austrian Times

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