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Austria Now News – Vienna
Four people dressed in black blew up a vending machine selling cigarettes, snacks and snus pouches outside a tobacconist (Trafik) on Krottenbachstraße in Döbling, Vienna’s 19th district, at around 2:30 a.m. overnight into Saturday, and then fled with what they had taken. Vienna police confirmed the incident in response to an inquiry from the newspaper Heute.
Surveillance video captures the explosion
Surveillance camera footage that spread on Facebook shows the group on Krottenbachstraße at its intersection with Silvaraweg, with one of them covering his face with a white cloth. The video shows them handling a firecracker before the explosion occurs about one minute and 46 seconds later. According to available information, an extremely powerful firecracker was likely used in the blast.
Just hundreds of metres from the police
The scene is located only a few hundred metres from the Börnergasse police station, yet the suspects managed to escape without being stopped immediately. The extent of the damage and the value of the stolen goods are not yet known.
Not the only case around Halloween
According to Heute, several vending machines in the Floridsdorf and Donaustadt districts were vandalised and looted before Halloween, and two further vending machine explosions occurred in the Favoriten district on Halloween night itself. This means at least three machines were blown up in Döbling and Favoriten alone. These machines typically sell cigarettes, snus and snacks.
The video, which spread on social media, sparked widespread discussion among local residents.
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Sources
Heute, Video zeigt Explosion – Vermummte Teenies jagen Automaten in Wien in die Luft, 01.11.2026, https://www.heute.at/s/vermummte-teenies-jagen-automaten-in-wien-in-die-luft-120275216
