Masked teenager tries to strangle taxi driver with rope!

Masked teenager tries to strangle taxi driver with rope!

On Monday evening there was a frightening incident in Vienna-Penzing when a 52-year-old taxi driver was attacked by a masked passenger. The taxi driver had previously transported the unknown passenger from a taxi rank when the attack began on Sanatorium Street. Suddenly, the attacker tried to choke the driver with a rope while the vehicle came to a stop. Fortunately, the driver was able to free himself from this dangerous situation and the attacker fled towards Raimannstrasse. The detailed description of the perpetrator speaks of a person about 150 cm tall, who was dressed entirely in black and had his face covered with a mask.

After the incident, the taxi driver was treated by the Vienna professional rescue service and taken to a hospital. No further information is currently known about his state of health. The police are now investigating and are asking the public for relevant information, which can be given to any police station. As Kosmo reports, it is not the first incident of this kind in the federal capital, where crime has increased again in recent years.

Crime in Vienna in focus

The current crime situation in Austria cannot be denied. A total of around 528,000 crimes were reported in 2023, which is the highest level since 2016. Over a third of these crimes occurred in Vienna - around 186,000. Particularly alarming are the approximately 85,400 highly publicized crimes, which also represent a record number. This raises questions about how security in urban areas will develop.

The figures also show that drug-related crime has also increased. In 2023, around 35,400 crimes were reported in this area in Austria, with the majority, around 9,960, occurring in Vienna. Cannabis remains the most common addictive drug. The rising trend in crime may be partly due to public perception, as 70% of Austrians believe that immigrants are making the crime problem worse. Around 43% of the suspects and those convicted were foreigners in 2022, with the largest proportion coming from Romania, Germany and Serbia.

Public perception and trust in the police

Despite the tense situation, trust in the police appears to remain relatively strong. A survey from spring 2024 showed that 77% of Austrians have trust in the police. This could make the population more willing to contact the authorities to resolve such incidents. However, the incident in Penzing shows that preventative measures and an increased police presence are necessary to ensure long-term security in Vienna, especially in view of the increasing crime figures, which were recently discussed by MeinBezirk.

The citizens of Vienna should remain vigilant and support the security forces in order to prevent similar attacks in the future. Every tip can be crucial in bringing the perpetrators to justice and strengthening the sense of security in the city.