Explosives detonated in vehicles in southern Styria The explosive devices were allegedly placed in the cars during a meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses. No one was injured.

GERMANY

Explosives detonated in vehicles in southern Styria

The explosive devices were allegedly placed in the cars during a meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses. No one was injured.

August 19, 2023

Leibnitz - Explosives detonated in the undersides of two cars in southern Styria on Friday evening, but no one was injured. This was announced by the Styria State Police Headquarters in a broadcast on Saturday. An unidentified person planted the explosives while the owners of the vehicle were at a meeting organized by the religious community of Jehovah's Witnesses. It is still being investigated whether there is a connection.

The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism (LVT) has created its own investigative team. Criminologists from the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) in Styria, explosives experts from the police and the deactivation service also took over the investigation. Work was carried out at the crime scene and securing evidence overnight, it was said on Saturday.

An explosive device detonated while he was driving

The owners of the cars, a man and a woman, parked their vehicles between 6:45 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. in a gravel parking lot near the prayer hall in Leibnitz. According to police spokesman Markus Lamb, apparently they should be able to park there as well. While the Jehovah's Witness members were still praying, they heard a loud bang from outside, but could not identify it, Lamb told the APA. When the woman got out to her car, she noticed parts of her car lying around.

About an hour later, around 9:00 p.m., the man got into his vehicle and drove to his house. A few kilometers later, an explosive device mounted on the underbody also detonated. According to Lamb, the driver was unhurt, but that was just "luck." Only then it became clear that an explosive device may have detonated under the car in the woman's car. Both vehicles were damaged.

While investigators are now examining all components of the explosive devices, potentially endangered facilities are being reported and police surveillance is being increased, investigators said. The situation of the motive is currently completely open. As reported by the "Kurier", the explosive devices are said to be homemade bombs. However, the police did not want to confirm or deny this for tactical reasons. At the moment, no one wanted to announce anything about a possible failure in the construction between the detonator and the explosives, which would have prevented a catastrophe.

Increased security measures at Happel Stadium

The incident is made even more explosive by the fact that the summer congress of Jehovah's Witnesses takes place at the Happel Stadium in Vienna from Friday to Sunday. According to the police, about 9,000 believers gather there. Security precautions have been strengthened accordingly, he said on Saturday afternoon when consulted by the APA. The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism is also involved. The meeting took place on Saturday as planned and will continue on Sunday.

The mayor of Leibnitz, Michael Schumacher (SPÖ), was shocked in an interview with the APA: "Everyone is surprised and one is shocked. The region is known for feeling good, and now we are so shaken by a flood of the century, as a society and as a region, and then something like that is added. It leaves you speechless and stunned." Jehovah's Witnesses are a completely discreet religious community in Leibnitz and have never attracted negative attention. Schumacher did not approach any conflict regarding Jehovah's Witnesses in his municipality.

In March, a 35-year-old man killed seven people at a Jehovah's Witnesses community meeting in Hamburg. Then he committed suicide. (APA, 19/08/2023)

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