Vienna shooting: Arrests after 'freed jihadist' kills four
4-11-2020, 10:20

Font size: [ A+ ] / [ A- ]

 

Austrian police have carried out a series of raids and made 14 arrests after a gunman murdered four people in the heart of Vienna on Monday.

The man, described as a 20-year-old Islamist terrorist who had been freed from jail last December, was shot dead by police as he fired on passers-by.

Security has been tight in the Austrian capital as police launched a manhunt for any further attackers.

But authorities now believe the gunman may have acted alone.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the four who died were an elderly woman, an elderly man, a young man and a waitress. Another 22 people were wounded.

One of the women who died was German, Germany's foreign minister said.

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said there was no indication that a second assailant had been involved, though that could no be ruled out. Police were still assessing some 20,000 mobile phone videos of what happened.

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed in a video on its online propaganda channel that it was behind the attacks, without providing any evidence.

The attacks began at 20:00 (19:00 GMT) on Monday, opposite the main synagogue in a pedestrian alley called Seitenstettengasse, and continued until the gunman was shot dead at 20:09.

Police identified a total of six crime scenes in the area. It was clearly an attack driven by "hatred of our way of life, our democracy", Chancellor Kurz said.Three days of national mourning have begun, with flags flying at half mast. Children - those in Vienna were kept at home for safety on Tuesday - will observe a minute's silence at school on Wednesday.

The UK raised its terrorism alert level to "severe", from "substantial", meaning an attack is highly likely, but no specific intelligence points to one.

It has also emerged that a police officer who was shot and wounded by the gunman was taken to safety by two men of Turkish descent.

"I took his legs, he took his shoulders, the police were there too of course and helped, and we quickly got him to the ambulance," Mikail Özen, a personal trainer and mixed martial arts fighter, told journalists.

Mr Nehammer praised them, saying "more than ever: if people think that they can divide our society with violence, terror and fear it's important to stand together".

He said 14 people linked to the gunman had been arrested in the Vienna area, the town of St Pölten and the city of Linz.

Two Swiss citizens - men aged 18 and 24 - were also arrested in Winterthur near Zurich, suspected of links to the gunman.

What we know about the gunman

Earlier, Mr Nehammer described the gunman as an "Islamist terrorist" named Kujtim Fejzulai, who had been jailed for 22 months in April 2019 for trying to travel to Syria to join IS jihadists.

He was released early in December under more lenient terms for young adults, after convincing the authorities that he no longer held extremist Islamist views, Mr Nehammer said.

Originally from North Macedonia, he had both Austrian and Macedonian citizenship. He had posted a photo on a social media, showing himself with weapons, before the attack, the minister said.

Police searched his home and seized video material. As well as being heavily armed, he was wearing a fake explosive belt, police said.

Mr Nehammer said the gunman opened fire with a shortened Kalashnikov assault rifle, but was also armed with a machete and a pistol.

The attack came hours before Austria imposed new national restrictions to try to stem rising cases of coronavirus. Many people were enjoying having a drink or eating out before a midnight curfew.

Elsewhere in Europe, France has suffered a spate of Islamist militant attacks recently, involving "lone wolf" jihadists.

Last month French history teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded outside a school in a suburb of Paris by a Chechen youth, who was then shot dead by police.

As the French government launched new measures to tackle militant Islam, a Tunisian man fatally stabbed three people in a cathedral in Nice.

The worst IS attack in Europe in recent years was in November 2015, when gunmen killed 130 people in Paris.

 

Comments: 99
#99   Rodrick
      
References:


Chinook winds casino philosophywiki.space
9 June 2026 21:08
#98   Marcela
      
References:


Newkirk casino https://forum.board-of-metal.org/user-50231.html
9 June 2026 18:52
#97   Debora
      
References:


Chicago casinos https://telegra.ph
9 June 2026 14:20
#96   Annmarie
      
References:


Fitz casino tunica https://graph.org/King-Casino-Bewertung-Slots--Boni-2026-05-26
9 June 2026 13:19
#95   Kerry
      
9 June 2026 11:33
#94   Larry
      
References:


Colorado casinos https://bridgedesign.space/
9 June 2026 09:24
#93   Adam
      
References:


Manoir de beauregard https://bom.so/GwW4OC
8 June 2026 22:03
#92   Zelda
      
References:


Meadows racetrack and casino https://www.instapaper.com/p/17728043

References:
https://www.instapaper.com/
8 June 2026 20:25
#91   Ines
      
References:


Casino buffalo ny https://topsitenet.com/profile/fatdouble08/1872737/
8 June 2026 18:59
#90   Danial
      
References:


Quinault casino https://roadwiki.site/wiki/N1_Casino_Erfahrungen_2026_50_FS_OHNE_Einzahlung
8 June 2026 18:18
#89   Rigoberto
      
References:


Blue rodeo in our nature https://hackmd.okfn.de/s/SkDNeumezl

References:
https://hackmd.okfn.de/
8 June 2026 18:04
#88   Jarrod
      
References:


Presque isle downs and casino https://forum.board-of-metal.org/user-50177.html
8 June 2026 14:47
#87   Jackie
      
8 June 2026 10:49
#86   Gilberto
      
References:


Hard rock casino tampa http://warblog.hys.cz/user/satindugout9/
8 June 2026 07:00
#85   Janie
      
8 June 2026 06:56
#84   Manuel
      
References:


Slot machine symbols https://earthwiki.space/wiki/Registrieren_und_Bonus_erhalten_100_Match_CH
8 June 2026 06:37
#83   Angelita
      
References:


Country club casino launceston https://gratisafhalen.be/author/brokergirl12/
7 June 2026 22:02
#82   Arlen
      
References:


Slot madness no deposit bonus codes https://molchanovonews.ru/user/tankchin39/

References:
https://molchanovonews.ru/
7 June 2026 18:01
#81   Doug
      
References:


Allegany casino http://csmouse.com/user/trunkforce4/
7 June 2026 16:15
#80   Glen
      
References:


Mail slots https://bridgedesign.space/wiki/Monro_Casino_Erfahrungen_2026_Modern_Seris

References:
https://bridgedesign.space/
7 June 2026 11:47
Add Comments

Name:*
E-Mail:
  Geo Keyboard  
 

Dear reader, guardian.ge welcomes your comments. Please express your views on topic and be respectful of others.

bold italic underline strike | align left centered align right | Ensert smilies insert linkInsert protected URL Choice the color | hidden text insert quote Convert selected text from transliteration to Cyrillic alphabet Insert spoiler

Code: *


Back1 2 3 4 5 Next