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Investigations after the attack in Vienna lead to another country besides Switzerland. Cooperation with Slovakia was not very smooth.
On the third day after the momentous attack in Vienna, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), together with the Director General of Public Security, Franz Ruf, and the President of the Vienna Police, Gerhard Pürstl, announced more details about the investigation. and they announced the detainees shortly after the attack. They also responded to criticism of the investigation: for example, the Slovak secret service had been waiting for a response for a long time.
Eight detainees have already been convicted
So far there have been 18 house searches, in addition to the 14 detainees who have already been released, another suspect has been arrested, Nehammer said. Eight of the 15 detainees had already been convicted of criminal offenses: four for terrorism offenses, two for various violent crimes and two in Linz for attempted honor killing.
All of the suspects came from the radical milieu, said CEO Ruf. In any case, they already knew about the group of people, then Ruf, so they were able to react relatively quickly and arrest the suspects.
However, the investigation would continue. These also lead to other countries. Two people were arrested in Switzerland, possibly related to the attack in Vienna. Another aspect of the investigation leads to another country, Nehammer said. It is not yet possible to announce which country you are from.
First exchange of shots after three minutes
Ruf also described the course of Monday’s police operation: As already known, the first emergency call was received at 8 p.m. A police patrol was at the scene 65 seconds later, and at 8:03 p.m. a patrol officer fired the first shot at the perpetrator. It was the officer who was seriously injured in the thigh during the shooting. The perpetrator was fought by another patrol officer and by special forces who arrived immediately afterwards. There were a total of five shots fired before the killer was finally hit and killed by a special unit officer below the left shoulder blade.
Because the perpetrator was wearing an explosive belt, not yet identified as a doll, deactivation specialists were called in. “All objects were removed from the perpetrator with a deactivating robot and then an X-ray was taken”; Ruf described. A photo of the perpetrator has already been taken, with the help of which the perpetrator could be identified in four hours, a “highly professional and fast” procedure, as Nehammer emphasized.
FBI Information
At the press conference, the Interior Minister and the two security agents tried to counter the criticisms that had already arisen against the actions of the investigating authorities. Cooperation with neighboring countries and foreign secret services has been shown to have been “outstanding,” Nehammer said. “Confidence has been restored in Austria”, the Federal Constitutional Protection (BVT) received a lot of useful information. The interior minister said there was also intense cooperation with the FBI. It was not yet able to reveal what information Austria had received from the US secret service, because investigations into the terrorist network were “far from over.”
Late reply from Slovakia
Cooperation with Slovakia, where the subsequent author tried to buy ammunition in the summer, may not have worked so well. Although the BVT was informed of this in late July, the men could not be immediately identified, Ruf said. “There was a license plate where he wasn’t sure what exactly it was, and a photograph where the two men couldn’t be clearly identified.”
However, potential men have been investigated, including the later author. The photos of the men were sent back to Slovakia, which, however, was slow to respond. Only after two written requests and a phone call did the BVT get the answer on October 16 that it could have been the men from the gun shop. However, this was not enough to monitor the suspect, Ruf said. “There are many elements that must be judged,” Ruf defended the actions of the constitutional protectors. “Something like this cannot be approached hastily.” In any case, the investigation was “high-level.”
Commission examines
In his opinion, a good job has been done, but everyone has the right to question the procedure, Ruf said. “I’m not arrogant enough to say that nothing happened.” He was pleased that the investigations and actions of the police and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution are now being evaluated by an independent commission of inquiry. You want to “openly deal with if something went wrong.”
Police President Pürstl also commented on the equipment used by the Vienna police, which had also been criticized after the attack. In his opinion, it is not necessary to equip more policemen with assault rifles. The Vienna police currently have 1,000 assault rifles and some patrol cars are equipped with them in each district. In addition, the Wega promotes the so-called “sectoral stripes”. Officers who are always on the move with an assault rifle rushed to the scene.
Why it was not requested immediately after the emergency call, Pürstl explains with the fact that emergency calls are received “weekly” about possible shots, “every time a noise is heard”. It is not possible to give a terror alarm every time.
(twi)
