Originally published on September 18, 2013 <br /><br />A suspected poacher shot dead three policemen and a paramedic in near Annaberg in Austria before barricading himself inside his farmhouse on Tuesday (September 17), where officers later found a charred body believed to be his, police and local media said.<br /><br />Reuters reports, "Police said the suspect, 55, first shot dead a police officer late on Monday after breaking through a roadblock in the province of Lower Austria near Vienna, where authorities were trying to catch poachers, or hunters shooting deer without a license.<br /><br />"He then killed a paramedic and wounded another policeman hurrying to the scene.<br />After fatally shooting another police officer at a separate roadblock, the man then fled in a stolen police car to his home near the city of Melk, about 70 km (40 miles) away, taking another policeman with him as a hostage.<br /><br />"That officer was later found dead in a barn nearby.<br /><br />"The man, whom police did not identify, fired repeatedly at police surrounding the farmhouse. After an hours-long standoff, police entered the house and found a charred body in a basement hideaway, Austrian media quoted a police spokesman as saying.<br />The spokesman was not immediately available.<br /><br />"The Krone tabloid quoted a friend of the suspect as saying he had confessed in a telephone call from his home as a police helicopter circled overhead and officers closed in.<br /><br />"'Unfortunately it is true. I shot three policemen tonight,' the paper quoted the conversation as related by the friend. 'I am the Annaberg poacher. They shot me too, in the stomach. But it doesn't matter.<br />"'I shot Burgi (his German shepherd dog) and they are not going to get me either.'<br /><br />"The newspaper quoted the friend as saying the suspected gunman had confided two weeks ago that he was schizophrenic.<br /><br />"Violent crime is rare in Austria, but hunting is a centuries-old tradition in the Alpine republic enjoyed by tens of thousands, many of them farmers and landowners."<br /><br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.<br /><br />For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:<br />https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:<br />http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Stay connected with us here:<br />Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Google+ http://gplus.to/TomoNewsUS
