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The killer, who was shot by police after the attack in central Vienna, was 20 years old., had roots in North Macedonia and had a relevant criminal record (Section 278b StGB). This was announced by the Interior Minister, Karl Nehammer (ÖVP).
As Nehammer explained in an interview, large raids have already been carried out in the vicinity of the perpetrator. Specifically, 15 house searches were carried out and several people were arrested.
In addition to Austrian citizenship, the killer also had North Macedonia citizenship. “He was equipped with a fake explosive belt and an automatic long pistol, a pistol and a machete to carry out this gruesome attack on innocent citizens,” said the interior minister.
The perpetrator wanted to go to Syria, for which he was sentenced
As Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) emphasized to the APA, it was the case of the murdered murderer no doubt a supporter of the radical Islamist terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS). He was sentenced to 22 months in prison on April 25, 2019 for attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIS.
On December 5, he was conditionally released early – he was considered a young adult and was therefore subject to the privileges of the Juvenile Court Act (JGG). The 20-year-old was shot dead by police forces near the Ruprechtskirche, the interior minister said.
“He came from a perfectly normal family”
“He came from a perfectly normal family. For me he was a young man who had the misfortune to meet the wrong friends. If he had not gone to a mosque but to boxing, he would have become a boxer” – with these words he characterized the Viennese defense lawyer Nikolaus Rast the perpetrator who shot at least four people in Vienna on Monday night. “I never thought it would be possible for him to become a murderer,” Rast said.
Rast had represented the boy in a hearing at the Vienna Regional Court, where he was sentenced to 22 months in prison in April 2019 in a terrorist process as an ISIS sympathizer because he wanted to travel to Syria to join the radical Islamist terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS). In Turkey, however, the authorities detained him, prevented him from crossing the Syrian border, detained him and sent him back to Austria.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism (BVT) originally learned of the Austrian-born child because his mother had reported him missing. In the course of the investigation into his whereabouts, it turned out that nothing had happened to him. Rather, he was on his way to Syria.
Rast, who “strongly condemned Monday’s attack” and expressed his condolences to the families of those killed and wounded, suspected at lunchtime Tuesday that the author had become radicalized as a teenager at a mosque he regularly visited. Rast said his old client was a disoriented young man looking for a place in life.
According to Rast, during the criminal investigations directed against him and after his final conviction, the minor was cared for by a probation officer and the Derad association, which specializes in the de-radicalization of radical Islamist criminals. Apparently, at the end of the previous year, it was no longer classified as dangerous; otherwise, his conditional early release from prison on December 5 would not have been approved.
Lone perpetrator?
It is still not entirely clear whether the murdered murderer was a lone perpetrator or whether the accomplices are still at large. Authorities continue to believe that several killers were involved in the attack and upheld their warnings to stay home and avoid the center in particular.
The man, armed with an automatic assault rifle, a pistol and a machete, was also wearing a fake explosives belt, according to the interior minister. The Director General of Public Security, Franz Ruf, reported that in opened his apartment with explosives that night and a house search was conducted
Martial photo posted before the bloodbath
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) confirmed that the murderer posted a photo on his Instagram account before the attack, which showed him with two weapons that he may have used later in the attack. It was initially unclear if the 20-year-old had also posted an oath of allegiance to the “Islamic State” (IS) and broadcast videos of the attack to the French satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” just hours before the crime.
The latter was initially reported by the “Bild Zeitung”. Once again the Interior Minister promised a quick clarification and the investigation of possible accomplices or confidants. The number of arrests that have occurred so far was not initially reported for tactical reasons.
