What we know, what is not clear

1,000 civil servants are currently employed in Vienna. At least one of the authors is still on the run.

Lisi Niesner / Reuters

The latest developments

• German police officers ransacked several apartments and workplaces in Osnabrück, Kassel and the Pinneberg district on Friday morning (6 November) in connection with the investigation into the terrorist attack in Vienna. This was reported by the Federal Criminal Police Office. According to the current state of the investigation, there is no suspicion of involvement in the attack against the four persons concerned. However, you should have had connections with the alleged killer.
• In the run-up to the terrorist attack, the Slovak authorities’ references to possible attack plans were neglected. The next killer was spotted by the Slovak police while trying to buy ammunition. According to an internal letter from the criminal agency located in the Slovakian Ministry of Interior, available to the APA news agency, the authorities informed their Austrian colleagues on 23 July. Austrian police responded on 10 September and identified one of the two potential buyers as the next killer with a criminal record. It is not clear what happened next. Karl Nehammer announced on Wednesday (November 4) the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry in Vienna. The interior minister admitted that “obviously some things went wrong”.
• The Austrian Parliament will hold a special session on Thursday 5 November. Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Deputy Chancellor Werner Kogler, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer and Justice Minister Alma Zadič want to make statements. An independent commission of inquiry will be set up in Vienna due to possible incidents prior to the attack.

On Monday evening (November 2) at around 8pm, a young man in central Vienna started randomly shooting at passers-by. Four bystanders and the assailant were killed and 22 people were hospitalized, some with serious injuries.

According to the police, there were six different crime scenes. Several perpetrators with assault rifles were involved in the attack. So far nothing is known about the whereabouts of other possible attackers.

The first shots were fired near the main synagogue in a Viennese nightlife district, just hours before the partial closure in Austria began. The restaurants in the 1st district, the area around the main synagogue Seitenstettengasse, the farmers market, the meat market, Morzinplatz, Salzgries and Graben were very popular. According to the police, the first shots were fired in Seitenstettengasse. The synagogue is also located there.

In one Tweet from the Vienna police It was said that among the seriously injured was a policeman guarding the synagogue.

The authorities were aware of the attacker who was shot by the police. The 20-year-old Austrian had North Macedonian roots and had a criminal record for belonging to a terrorist organization. According to the Interior Ministry, he had previously planned to travel to Syria to join the IS terrorist militia. He was prevented from doing so and instead was sentenced in April 2019 to 22 months in prison for belonging to a terrorist organization.

Last December he was “released early on a conditional basis” because he was considered a young adult and therefore fell within the privileges of the Juvenile Court Act. His attorney at the time said the young man came from a perfectly normal family. But he made the wrong friends and radicalized himself. His supervisor in the deradicalization program Derad noticed this before the crime due to his extreme religiosity.

Even before the crime, the killer posted a photo of the guns on Facebook. These include a Kalashnikov with a shortened barrel, an assault rifle, a pistol and a machete. He also wore a fake explosive belt during the assassination attempt. The Slovak police also noticed this before the attacks when they tried to buy ammunition.

It is not clear if the slain shooter had accomplices. There are currently no indications of a second responsible, Interior Minister Nehammer said on Tuesday afternoon (November 3). Investigations are in full swing. It is clear that 18 house searches were carried out in the early morning hours after the attack. Police temporarily arrested 14 people. They all come from the author’s background.

The young man opened fire on Monday evening at 8 pm. Nine minutes later he was neutralized by a special unit. After the attack, the Viennese made around 20,000 cell phone videos available to the police. Interior Minister Nehammer thanked two Austrians with a migration background for their cooperation and especially for rescuing an injured police officer.

The victims are – in addition to the killer – two men and two women. Among those killed is a 24-year-old German student who worked as a waitress. Another victim, such as the offender’s family, is from North Macedonia. The 20-year-old was also a member of the Albanian minority in North Macedonia and had graduated from high school in Austria. Further details on the people are currently unknown.

On Wednesday (4 November), the dispatch office of the FDFA announced that a Swiss woman was slightly injured.

On Tuesday afternoon (November 3) in Winterthur, police from the canton of Zurich arrested an 18-year-old and a 24-year-old Swiss man in connection with the terrorist attack in Vienna. To the relationship

The two Swiss were known to the security authorities and law enforcement agencies and are involved in criminal prosecutions relating to terrorism. The Federal Police Office confirmed this. The criminal proceedings opened in 2018 and 2019 are still ongoing, the Federal Prosecutor specified the following day.

The alleged culprit in Vienna and the two people arrested in Zurich knew each other. Your relationship and your link with Switzerland are currently being clarified.

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told the media that the terrorist attack had exposed a fault line in the system. The fact that the offender was released from custody prematurely demonstrates that clearer and more decisive action must be taken against radicalized violent criminals in the future. Nehammer therefore calls for an evaluation of the system and an optimization of the judiciary. The young man went through a program of deradicalization for Islamists and, according to Nehammer, managed to deceive the specialists and thus obtain an early release.

Speculations that the attack was directed at the Jewish city temple in Seitenstettengasse could not be proven. Oskar Deutsch, president of the Israelite religious community in Austria, said the synagogue was closed at the time of the attack and that there were no casualties there. All the parishioners were asked to stay at home. For security reasons, all synagogues, Jewish schools and institutions of the Israelite religious community, kosher restaurants and supermarkets were closed on Tuesday (November 3).

The Viennese municipal rabbi also does not take an anti-Semitic motive. Schlomo Hofmeister does not believe the attack was aimed at the Jewish people. “That was anti-human motivation. I don’t think the man made a difference to who shot it, “Hofmeister told ORF on Tuesday (Nov. 3). Hofmeister was nearby at the time of the crime and witnessed the attack.

Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen strongly condemned the terrorist attack and assured the victims of his support. “We are all deeply affected,” the head of state said Monday evening (November 2) on Twitter. Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz condemned the attack as a “disgusting terrorist attack” while at the same time warning of a division in society. It is not a dispute between Christians and Muslims or between Austrians and migrants, he said on Tuesday (November 3) in a televised address to the nation. Rather, it is a struggle between the many people who believed in peace and the few who wanted war.

Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga condemned the act on behalf of Switzerland. On Tuesday (November 3), he called for solidarity with Austria and France in a message sent via Twitter. Switzerland strongly condemns all forms of terrorism and violence. Your thoughts are with the victims and their families. “Our democratic and constitutional values ​​of freedom and tolerance are our bulwark against barbarism.” The President of the National Council Isabelle Moret (fdp., Vaud) and the President of the Council of States Hans Stöckli (Bern, sp.) Also expressed their solidarity and sympathy with the victims and their relatives in a joint tweet.

In addition, the best politicians around the world were concerned. “After another heinous terrorist act in Europe, our prayers are with the people of Vienna,” US President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter. His Democratic challenger Joe Biden tweeted that he and his wife Jill prayed for the victims and their families after the terrible terrorist attack in Vienna. “We must all be united against hatred and violence,” he added. In the United States, a new president will be elected on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also condemned the terrorist attack as a “brutal and cynical crime”. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin tweeted Tuesday: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Austrians as we follow with concern last night’s despicable terrorist attack in Vienna.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised full solidarity with Austria.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter in German: «After France, it is a friendly country that is under attack. This is our Europe. Our enemies need to know who they are dealing with. We’re not giving in to anything. ”There had been three attacks in France in recent weeks, and investigators each assume an Islamist background.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made the following statement: “We Germans stand by our Austrian friends in sympathy and solidarity. Islamist terror is our common enemy. The fight against these killers and their instigators is our common battle. ”