Austria probes gunfire targeting mosque, Green Party office in Hollabrunn

ISTANBUL

Austrian police are investigating a series of gunfire incidents in the town of Hollabrunn after shots were fired at a mosque, a local Green Party office, and a parked car, authorities said on Monday.

Police spokesman Johann Baumschlager said a shot was fired at the mosque of the Association of Albanian Muslims around midnight on Sunday. Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported that the projectile pierced the entrance door frame, passed through an interior room and a double-glazed window, and was later recovered in the inner courtyard.

No one was injured, and police said the mosque was empty at the time of the shooting.

On the same night, a parked car about 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) from the mosque was also hit by gunfire, with one projectile recovered, police said.

Separately, two additional shots were reported at the Green Party’s Hollabrunn office. Police said those shots may have been fired sometime between Friday and Monday.

Austria’s State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism has taken over the investigation. Baumschlager said investigators have initial leads but declined to provide details for tactical reasons.

Police are examining whether the incidents are linked and whether they were motivated by religious or political factors. The recovered projectiles will undergo forensic analysis to determine whether they were fired from the same weapon.

Authorities said police patrols have been increased in Hollabrunn and urged the public to report any suspicious activity, particularly during the night of the mosque shooting.

Green Party representatives condemned what they described as political violence, while the Albanian Muslim community denounced the shooting at the mosque and appealed for restraint, urging politicians and the public to avoid incitement or hate speech against religious institutions and their members.