Austria: mother and daughter shot

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Police operation in Austria (symbol picture)

Photo: Spitzt-Foto / Getty Images

A 51-year-old is said to have killed his ex-girlfriend and her mother in Austria.

The women between the ages of 50 and 76 were killed in an as yet unspecified number of shots, the police reported.

The suspect turned himself in to a special command hours later after a manhunt in which the Bavarian police were also involved.

According to the investigators, the man had two loaded handguns with him.

According to the authorities, there had been a dispute with the 51-year-old in the family home of the two women in Wals-Siezenheim near Salzburg.

Neighbors heard the noise and the gunshots and called the police.

The alerted officers discovered the two dead in the entrance area of ​​the house.

Shortly afterwards, the suspect himself contacted the police via an emergency call and threatened suicide.

He was finally arrested at Lake Wolfgang.

The motive for the dispute is still unclear.

With the fall, the number of women who were killed this year in Austria, mainly by partners and ex-partners, rises to eleven.

In many countries around the world, such acts are referred to as femicide.

Behind this is the belief that women are killed because of their gender.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was concerned.

"The murder of two other women in Salzburg shakes me deeply," wrote the head of government on Twitter.

»Every woman must be able to live safely in Austria.

Violence against women has no place in our society «.

Only recently had violence protection organizations demanded 228 million euros and 3,000 additional positions in victim protection in Austria.

The Association of Austrian Autonomous Women's Shelters demands personal protection for women in high-risk situations, among other things.

According to crime statistics, around 11,600 entry and approach bans were issued in Austria last year.

The violence protection organizations are urging a government campaign against violence in the family, which should also be directed against misogynist behavior.

The counseling centers for women and girls in need urgently need to be expanded.

bbr / jpz / dpa