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Terrorist investigations are currently in full swing after Monday’s attack. Interior Minister Nehammer will provide information on the current status.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer, together with Director General of Public Security Franz Ruf and Vienna Police President Gerhard Pürstl, presented new findings on terrorist investigations.
What we know so far: A 20-year-old murderer shot in the center of Vienna shortly after 8 pm on Monday night. Four people died and 23 were injured, some seriously. Just minutes after the bloody act, the killer was neutralized by the officers. The 20-year-old, a dual national between Austria and North Macedonia, had, as it quickly turned out, an Islamist background. He had a criminal record for belonging to a terrorist organization. Before he had radicalized in the Salafist scene.
Statement by the Minister of the Interior, Nehammer
Today at noon, Nehammer and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz visited the wounded policeman. It was okay, he announced, depending on the circumstances. The minister stressed that he was proud of the police officers who have been on duty since Monday and are still standing.
43 hours after the attack, the investigations are in full swing. The background of the author and his environment is currently being examined in detail. So far there have been 14 arrests. The detainees are between 18 and 28 years old and all have an immigration background. Some of them are not Austrian citizens. The investigation is ongoing on suspicion of involvement in a terrorist organization, the interior minister said.
The manner of the attack was extremely cruel. The question of who was to blame for the terror is easy to answer. “He is always the culprit.”
De-radicalization program deceived
The killer was very good at fooling the de-radicalization program he was attending and the people there. Therefore, he managed to get out of custody early.
Nehammer admits mistakes
On Wednesday, events took off after reports that the Slovak secret service had informed the BVT some time before the attack and that the perpetrator wanted to obtain ammunition in the summer; more on this here. Clearly something “went wrong”. The next step is to examine where things happened that shouldn’t have happened.
The investigations are still in full swing, all the people related to him must be investigated.
New information
08/22/2018: I wanted to travel to Afghanistan, but I did not have a visa and was sent back.
09/01/2018: In a new attempt to reach Syria, he was captured in Turkey and detained, until January 9, 2019. On January 10, 2019, he flew back to Austria.
Sequence of events
The task now is to restore the course of action. Where was it coming from, what was the goal, where was it going? The evaluation of the videos was finished. The author was found to have acted alone. According to current information, he did not arrive at the crime scene by subway.
However, it is still unclear where the perpetrator is said to have learned his language skills in Arabic or in North Africa. In that language it is said that he shouted slogans.
Slovakia Information
The commission of inquiry must now clarify the circumstances. Consultations were made with Slovakia. Now it is important to clarify what exactly went wrong in the communication.
The question of when the Slovak authorities informed the Austrian authorities received the answer “in July 2020”. Now it must be clarified whether the clarification process “went optimally”.
“The Slovak secret service informed the protection of the constitution, the BVT, about the terrorist attack some time before the attack. It calls for a commission of inquiry. Above all, the protection of the constitution, the BVT, must be examined” . The Slovak secret service has the protection of the constitution, the BVT, reported on the terrorist attack some time before the attack. “The protection of the Constitution was permanently damaged,” if not destroyed “by his predecessor Herbert Kickl (FPÖ), Nehammer said. Calls for reform. This is an unsafe situation for Austria emerged.
Nehammer also spoke of a “communication problem”. It will be forwarded to the National Security Council in this regard. Nehammer also wants to create an independent commission to examine the actions of the Austrian authorities. In the future, the Austrian population should be better protected from “threats”, Nehammer said.
Complaints of “people being led behind the light”
For the Minister of the Interior it is extremely astonishing that the person (note: Herbert Kickl) who is responsible for the BVT being shaken up and with “some kind of information” made public, “which of all people is now the one who shouts the most strong” .
