Attack in Vienna: currently no evidence of second perpetrators, 14 arrests

Four people and the perpetrator were killed, a total of 22 other people were injured. In the vicinity of the author, 18 house searches were carried out in Vienna and Lower Austria, and 14 people were provisionally detained.

Despite this, a heightened security warning was kept. According to the Interior Minister, the officer who was shot was stable after an operation.

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) clearly criticized Tuesday afternoon the fact that the murderer shot by the police had been released on probation from a 22-month prison sentence. The 20-year-old managed to “fool the de-radicalization program of the judiciary,” Nehammer said. Therefore, it requires a “system evaluation and optimization”.

Kujtim Fejzulai was convicted of terrorist organization (Section 278b StGB) in Vienna in April 2019 after he was removed while trying to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State. Already in early December he was released under certain conditions and assigned a probation and support officer from the Derad association, which specializes in the de-radicalization of radical Islamist criminals. It is likely that he cleverly pretended that they both moved away from the ideology of IS. Nehammer stated that he had made “special efforts” with the probation officer. During the appointments with Derad, he tried to correspond externally to the image of a young man integrated into society. In reality, the 20-year-old wanted to “deliberately destroy the system,” Nehammer said.

The 20-year-old is reportedly said to have completed a date with Derad a few days ago, in late October. It was said that he explicitly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in France. In truth, however, there is “abundant evidence of its radicalization,” emphasized the director general of Public Security, Franz Ruf, at the press conference at the Interior Ministry.

Ammunition parts were found in the attacker’s home during a house search. Furthermore, numerous additional evidence was seized, which must first be evaluated. But there is already a “clear indication of proximity to the Islamic State (IS),” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) told a press conference. The 20-year-old posted a corresponding post on Facebook.

A total of 18 house searches were carried out in the vicinity of the perpetrator in Vienna and Lower Austria on Tuesday. “The evidence is currently being examined and evaluated,” said Director General of Public Safety Franz Ruf. 14 people close to the perpetrator were arrested. He was questioned Tuesday afternoon. The detainees come from the 20-year-old’s circle of friends and acquaintances. Based on initial findings, there was no evidence that they were actively involved in the attack.

At the press conference, Nehammer also emphasized that the shot police officer had been brought to safety by two Austrians with immigration backgrounds. “Tolerance is an indivisible good,” said the Interior Minister. “We certainly do not allow our enthusiasm for life, our freedom, our tolerance, our life together in Austria and in the federal capital to be destroyed by violence,” Nehammer said. “Anyone who believes that they must resort to these means must expect the full consistency, clarity and rigor of the rule of law.”

After the attack that killed at least four in Vienna, 14 people from the murderer’s vicinity were arrested on Tuesday. All are now in custody, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) said Tuesday night from the APA. “This shows the constant and uncompromising approach taken by the police and the judiciary in the fight against terrorism in our country,” Nehammer said.

After Kujtim Fejzulai was finally convicted of being an Islamic State terrorist, proceedings were initiated to withdraw his Austrian citizenship. The Austrian-born man of Albanian roots held both Austrian and North Macedonian citizenship. The withdrawal process, however, failed, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) said at the press conference.

According to the competent authority in Vienna, there was “very little evidence of active activity” in the direction of the terrorist activity, Nehammer explained. The 20-year-old should have managed to convincingly convince the authorities who had to do with him after his release from prison that he was purified. It is said that he always kept appointments with the probation officer and Derad, he should not have been considered a particular threat by the protection of the constitution.

That is why it was no longer under surveillance by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. “There is never an absolute claim to safety” and “there is no absolute safety to be able to assess a person correctly,” said the president of the Vienna State Police, Gerhard Pürstl.

After the terrorist attack in central Vienna on Monday night, 22 people were treated in hospitals. Vienna Health Association spokesman Christoph Mierau said at the request of the APA. 14 of them were considered seriously injured, one of them was the police officer who was shot. Mierau on Tuesday classified his condition as that of two other patients as critical, but stable. None of the patients were in serious danger of death.

A woman died Tuesday night. Seven victims came out with minor injuries. Mierau did not comment on the type of injuries in the 14 patients. According to the APA, it’s not just gunshot wounds. Some victims had stab wounds and cuts. Additionally, there were typical exhaust injuries, such as broken bones and crushed cracks.

According to the APA, the patients came from Austria and Germany. One of the injured came from Slovakia.

In connection with the attack in Vienna, two arrests were made in St. Pölten on Tuesday. A police spokesman also confirmed that two house searches had been carried out in the Lower Austrian capital.

The “Kurier” reported online that the contact addresses of the alleged killer in Fuhrmannsgasse and in an apartment block in front of the St. Pölten University Hospital had been “turned over” by special forces. Heavily armed Cobra officials searched the premises together with the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Against Terrorism (LVT).

Upper Austria Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) confirmed a house search and arrest in Linz at a press conference on Tuesday. The arrest was carried out by a Cobra commando in Linz on the orders of the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office, “reported Director of the State Police Andreas Pilsl. Interrogations continue.