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07. 10. 09. - 15:00

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07. 10. 09. - 15:00

Cops shot teenager 'in panic', claims newspaper

By David Rogers

Two policeman who killed a teenager when they opened fire on him as they investigated a burglary in a supermarket had shot "in panic", according to the newspaper Kurier.

The newspaper reported today (Weds) that three experts have now finished their report into the 5 August fatal shooting in Krems, Lower Austria.

It claimed the report by court physician Christian Reiter, ballistics expert Ingo Wieser and chemist Reinhard Binder, had concluded that the shots that killed the 14-year-old boy had been fired from a distance of 1.5 to 2.0 metres.

The newspaper added that the report also claimed the boy had been shot in the back while fleeing the two police investigating a break-in at the supermarket and that the two police, a man and a woman, had not been in an emergency situation.

Kurier claimed the two police had been terrified and had "begun to shoot in panic."

A 17-year-old youth was also shot but is recovering and remains in police custody.

But Karl Schober from the Korneuburg public prosecutor’s office, said today the newspaper’s report was based on assumptions and inferences rather than the report’s contents.

The two police officers involved went back to work a few days after the shootings, officials in Lower Austria have confirmed.

Anton Haumer, a spokesman for the provincial police directorate, said though the pair were not working as "executive officers" and were no longer in Krems.

The spokesman also said they were still attending sessions with a psychologist following the shooting.

Fourteen-year-old Florian P. died from his injuries, while Roland T., 17, was severely injured after being hit in both thighs.

The teenager claims his friend Florian P. and he were running when the cops fired at them.

The two police told investigators they were about to be attacked. The pair’s "weapons" were later revealed as a screwdriver and a garden hoe.

Austrian Times

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