10. 09. 10. - 12:00

Serb jailed for gunning down policeman

An illegal immigrant who gunned down a police officer was sentenced to 13 years in jail for attempted murder yesterday (Thurs).

Mihailo Jankovic seriously injured 27-year-old policeman Mario R. when he fired two shots at him after a wild road chase in Vienna-Ottakring in January.

The Serb drove over a yellow light crossing and then floored it after a police patrol car tried to stop him. He abandoned his BMW after a cross-district chase before fleeing on foot. The police officer caught up with him after a few hundred metres. Mario R. told the offender who hid between parked cars to give up – before the 33-year-old fired three shots from his gun.

The first hit a parked vehicle, the second the police officer’s knee and the third his shoulder, injuring his lung. Part of the bullet is still stuck in his thoracic vertebra. Mario R. was in a two-week artificial coma following the incident. It is still not clear whether he can keep working as a policeman due to his fragile physical and psychological state.

Mario R. told judges yesterday he thought the traffic offender carried a pipe and not a gun. "Had I known he had a gun in his hand, I would have shot," the officer explained, stressing he planned to overpower the man with a pepper spray.

Vasic claimed he shot the policeman "due to the stress-laden situation", but state prosecutor Roman Reich threw out his claim. Reich said: "Someone who does such a thing doesn’t want to scare the opponent – but kill him."

The accused said: "I plead guilty to injuring the policeman. But I’m not a murderer."

Vasic carried out a string of burglaries after he migrated to Austria illegally. He was in custody awaiting deportation but fled days before the Ottakring district shooting.

The Serb was arrested near the Hungarian-Serb border one week after the incident.

The jury at Vienna’s Criminal Court sentenced him to 13 years in prison for attempted murder. His victim will receive 15,800 Euros compensation.

The verdict is not yet legally binding as the defendant’s lawyer Alexander Philipp asked for time to think over whether he should appeal it.

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