The crime took place early on Wednesday evening at about 6.40 pm at Keplerplatz square in Vienna. First, the unknown men circled the two young women aged 18 and 20 – the two Upper Austrians were visiting Vienna to see a friend – and then began to grope them. The two were supposed to escape, but two of the perpetrators followed them and continued to molest them, it was said.
The young women sought refuge in the flat of an acquaintance, but one of the perpetrators allegedly forced his way into the flat, but eventually ran off with his companion when the acquaintance shooed him out of the room. The women were not injured during the assaults.
The police searched for the suspects, but the search was unsuccessful. According to the victims, there were “about eight Arab men who surrounded and harassed them”, police spokesman Christopher Verhnjak told Austrian Press Agency APA.
The investigation is ongoing. “We were not aware of an incident on this scale, with them running after her all the way into her flat, until now. Accordingly, we are taking the investigations very seriously,” the police spokesperson emphasised.