Austrian police are investigating whether the Islamist militant who killed four people in Vienna on Monday night was part of a wider network and if the attack could have been prevented.
Kujim Fejjulai, known to officials as sympathizers of the Islamic State group, who was credited with the killings, is believed to be the lone gunman in the attack, despite hours of uncertainty over whether a large number of comrades remained.
The attack in central Vienna killed a 20-year-old two-year-old man from Stria and northern Macedonia in nine minutes.
In Austria, police on Tuesday raided 18 properties linked to the attacker and made 14 arrests. Two people were also arrested in the Swiss city of Winterthur, near Zurich.
It is believed that in July Fezjulai also went to neighboring Slovakia with another neighbor, where he tried to buy ammunition suitable for the weapons used in the attack, but sales fell after he failed to produce a firearms license.
It is said that Slovak officials informed their Austrian counterparts at the time. The man was traveling in a car registered with the police in the name of the mother of a well-known Islamist.
Austria’s interior minister, Carl Nehammer, said Tuesday that Fejjulai identified officials as sympathizers of ISIS. After trying to cross the Turkish border – where he met two Germans and a Belgian – he was sentenced in Syria to 22 months in Austrian prison on April 25, 2019 for his links to a terrorist organization.
The sentence was suspended in December last year on the condition that he would be monitored regularly by probation services and participate in a decentralization program.
Nehamar and Ryan Strian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of both the leading People’s Party have criticized his premature release from prison. Nehmmer said Fejjulai was able to deceive his mentors in such a way that they did not notice any early warning signs of his radicalization. He said this pointed to a “flaw in our system” that allowed for “premature emancipation of the radical person”.
Green Party Justice Minister Alma ZD defended the decision, saying it was legal and that he had been released on parole. The justice ministry later said it had not been informed of Fajjulai’s attempts to purchase ammunition in Slovakia, saying there would have been a reason for his arrest.
The government met on Wednesday to discuss the security situation and whether the attack could have been prevented.
Reinhold Einwalner of the Social Democratic Party said he was surprised that the attacker’s attempt to buy ammunition, especially when his connection to ISIS was known, did not issue a security warning. “It should have sounded the alarm,” he told the Rian Strian newspaper courier.
He called for more intensive exchange of information between the Ministries of Justice and Home Affairs regarding those considered a security threat. [Isis] Returnees are of managed size. “
The justice ministry said it had not been informed of Fajjulai’s attempts to purchase ammunition in Slovakia, saying there would have been a reason for his arrest.
The prominent far-right Freedom Party said there was an urgent need to investigate the role of the intelligence service. “There are many indications that this terrorist and the circles in which he has moved have long been on the radar of the intelligence services. And if so, why was this terror not taken to the streets? Said Herbert Kickle of the party.
Nicholas Rast, a lawyer who acted for Fejjulai, said his client had been through a lifetime and was an “easy prey” for terrorist groups. “He left an impression on me more than finding a young man who didn’t know what his place was in society, who failed to find the right apprenticeship position and was therefore an easy prey for certain groups.” Tabloid build.
Three people, two of Turkish descent and another being of Palestinian descent, were hailed as heroes to help some of the injured.
Mikael Uzen, 25, and Recep Tayyip Galtekin, 21, were to park their cars on the Swedenplates before enjoying the last coffee together before the coronavirus lockdown began. They rushed to the aid of a woman lying on the ground, and shot Galtekin.
“The attacker fired at him. But I was able to save myself by rolling the reception forward, ”said Zane. They managed to get the woman to safety.
Osma Yoda, 23, who works at a McDonald’s during the monsoon, was helping his boss to carry a car when he came across the man. “He hid in a closed garage entrance and opened fire on passersby,” the Palestinian man said. When two policemen arrived, the gunman opened fire on them, striking one of them. “I pulled him behind a concrete bench and tried to stop the bleeding,” Yoda told the courier. “He continued firing from a distance of about 20 to 30 meters. There was blood everywhere. ”
He then helped officers take him to a nearby ambulance, assisted by Gultekin and En Zen, both amateur martial artists. The men were greeted by the Turkish ambassador to Austria and the mayor of Vienna, who thanked them for their actions.
A police officer on duty on the night of the attack described the confusion and chaos as he and his colleagues tried to secure bars and restrooms in the area. “The bullets kept coming and we were rescuing the wounded, but we didn’t know where to take them, because we didn’t know where Arcehole was,” he told the Austrian news agency APA.
The condition of the 27 injured, who survived both the shooting and the stabbing, is not serious. The deceased was said to be a female student of the University of Applied Arts.
