diff --git a/src/database.py b/src/database.py
index 0b62b6e..ff9790f 100644
--- a/src/database.py
+++ b/src/database.py
@@ -226,6 +226,7 @@ async def get_db() -> aiosqlite.Connection:
     db.row_factory = aiosqlite.Row
     await db.execute("PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL")
     await db.execute("PRAGMA foreign_keys=ON")
+    await db.execute("PRAGMA busy_timeout=5000")
     return db
 
 
diff --git a/src/routers/incidents.py b/src/routers/incidents.py
index 2d3d050..b05ab6a 100644
--- a/src/routers/incidents.py
+++ b/src/routers/incidents.py
@@ -218,8 +218,16 @@ async def delete_incident(
             detail="Nur der Ersteller kann diese Lage loeschen",
         )
 
-    await db.execute("DELETE FROM incidents WHERE id = ?", (incident_id,))
-    await db.commit()
+    try:
+        await db.execute("DELETE FROM incidents WHERE id = ?", (incident_id,))
+        await db.commit()
+    except Exception as e:
+        if "database is locked" in str(e):
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=status.HTTP_409_CONFLICT,
+                detail="Datenbank ist momentan beschaeftigt. Bitte in wenigen Sekunden erneut versuchen.",
+            )
+        raise
 
 
 @router.get("/{incident_id}/articles")