Lovesick Soldier Steals Tank, Runs Amok in Vienna
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VIENNA — A soldier angry that his girlfriend left him rode a tank through the streets of Vienna, demolishing 20 cars, a bus and power lines, police said Thursday.
Authorities said the 22-year-old serviceman, identified only as Gerhard M., got drunk Wednesday and stole an M-60 tank from an Austrian army barracks at Zwoelfaxing, about 10 miles east of Vienna.
The soldier drove to Vienna, leaving a trail of destruction.
He ignored warning shots from police but surrendered after a police tank forced him to crash against a concrete pillar beneath a downtown bridge.
The soldier later said that he had been upset after a quarrel with his girlfriend and took the tank because he wanted to go home.
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