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Threat with a blank gun: 18-year-old arrested in Vienna!
An 18-year-old threatened two classmates with a blank gun in Vienna-Heiligenstadt and was arrested.
Threat with a blank gun: 18-year-old arrested in Vienna!
On September 16, 2025, a dangerous incident occurred in Vienna-Heiligenstadt that is likely to heat up tempers. An 18-year-old trainee of Russian nationality threatened to kill two classmates near a supermarket and showed them a blank pistol. According to [5min.at](https://www.5min.at/wien/5202509171345/ Threat-with-Schreckschuss Pistole-jugendlicher-18-arrested/), this happened at around 1:10 p.m., which was a shocking moment for the young people.
The unpleasant incident began when the two students had no other choice and informed a teacher, who immediately called the police. The alarm quickly became a reality: the intervention of the Vienna Alarm Department (WEGA) was necessary. The situation escalated when emergency services arrived and the 18-year-old was eventually arrested, but refused to comment on the allegations. A blank pistol was seized.
Legal measures and consequences
The trainee is now facing charges of dangerous threats. The public prosecutor ordered him to be temporarily detained in a prison. The investigation is still ongoing to bring more details about the incident to light, as [vienna.at](https://www.vienna.at/18-jaehriger-bedrohte-mitschueler-vor-wiener-supermarkt-mit- Pistole-wega-satz/9677315) reports.
In view of such incidents, gun law is being discussed more and more frequently in Austria. A few months ago there was a shooting spree in Graz, which led to Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) announcing a comprehensive amendment to the weapons law. This is intended to prevent further acts of violence from occurring. In the future, the minimum age for purchasing pistols will be raised from 21 to 25 years, while a higher minimum age of 21 years will also apply to long guns, as [br.de](https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/oesterreich-kuendigt-nach-amoklauf-schaerferes- Waffenrecht-an,UvpLSiN) explains.
In addition, there will now be mandatory psychological examinations that must be carried out when applying for a firearms license for the first time and should be repeated every five years. While some critics of the new regulations fear that hunters will be exempt from certain regulations, the government's goal is clear: stricter gun laws should help protect the population.
Overall, the incident in Vienna shows once again how important and urgent a debate about gun law is in Austria, a country known for its liberal regulations in this area. How the new rules will affect safety remains to be seen.