Austrian police hunt for gunman after mayor shot dead in shooting

A manhunt has been launched Austria after a mayor was shot dead in an apparent dispute over hunting permits.

Franz Hofer, the mayor of Kirchberg ob der Donau, was killed on Monday afternoon in a field near the village of Altenfelden, in Austria’s rural Mühlviertel region.

A second man was shot dead a short time later, an Austrian police spokesman said.

Police have named the suspected shooter as Roland Drexler, 56, who is considered a hunter and described as extremely dangerous.

A special unit of the Austrian police has been called in to assist in the manhunt, as well as two helicopters and an armored vehicle.