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Austria on Tuesday lived a national mourning for the victims of the first attack perpetrated by an Islamist extremist, at a time when the hypothesis of the presence of attackers on the run was ruled out.
Behind the attack, which resulted in four deaths, is an ISIS “supporter” who tried to travel to Syria.
Interior Minister Karl Niehamer explained to the press that Qutem Vizolai, who was wanted by the police on Monday night, was sentenced to prison in Austria in 2019, but was released early.
The minister emphasized that the twenty-year-old had managed to “fool” the extremist rehabilitation program and those in charge of following it.
He apparently acted on his own, contrary to what was initially announced by the authorities, who launched a manhunt to find other suspects.
Nihamer confirmed that so far there is no evidence that the bloody attack was carried out by more than one attacker.
He announced the arrest of 14 people and the implementation of 18 raids in the country on Tuesday.
Swiss police announced the arrest of two young Swiss men, aged 18 and 24, on Tuesday afternoon in Winterthur, near Zurich, in northern Switzerland, for their connection to the Vienna attack.
– National mourning –
The attack took place on Monday evening in the heart of the Austrian capital, near a synagogue and the opera house.
The attacker opened fire while many Viennese in restaurants and cafes took advantage of the last hours before the imposition of total isolation.
At the scene of the attack, the police imposed a strong security cordon on Tuesday, at a time when elements of the criminal police were deployed to collect evidence.
And Austria, under the influence of the commotion, declared a three-day national mourning after Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz described the attack as a “terrorist attack.”
Across the country, flags of government buildings were lowered at half mast and a minute of silence was observed at noon as church bells rang.
Prime Minister, President Alexander van der Bellen and other senior officials participated in a ceremony honoring the victims.
Residents are still stunned, even forgetting the isolation that went into effect on Tuesday to combat the second wave of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Vienna Rabbi Shlomo Hofmeister expressed “concern” that the attack was related to the synagogue. He told AFP: “There is no evidence of that, but we cannot rule it out.” He added: “The building was closed at this time of day, it is the active neighborhood of the city.”
The rabbi, who saw the attack from the window of his apartment, related that “the man ran towards the customers of a bar with his weapon, firing dozens of rounds, perhaps hundreds, and of course he took advantage of the situation to provoke a bloodbath “.
– There are no schools –
The four victims were an old man and a woman, and a passing youth and a waitress, according to counselor Kurtz.
About 15 people remain in hospitals, three of whom are in critical condition, according to the Vienna Hospital Association.
Police and soldiers have mobilized to protect important buildings in the capital, and children have been exempted from going to school on Tuesday.
“We will not be scared off by terrorism and we will fight these attacks with all our means,” said Kurtz, denouncing the “disgusting” attack.
Amid a tense atmosphere in Europe, the attack prompted many condemnations around the world, as well as a wave of solidarity with Vienna, from US President Donald Trump to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and all European leaders, starting with the President. from the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela. Merkel.
In France, three people were killed on Thursday in a stabbing attack on the Notre-Dame de L’Assomption church in Nice (southeast), carried out by a young Tunisian who eventually made it to Europe.
A few days ago, the beheading of Samuel Patty, a history teacher, who showed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his students during a class on freedom of expression, shocked France and abroad.
Austria has so far been spared from the wave of Islamist attacks in Europe in recent years.
