Official: Vienna attacker had previous terrorism conviction
VIENNA — Austria’s top security official says the attacker killed in Vienna was a 20-year-old dual citizen of Austria and North Macedonia who had a previous terrorism conviction.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told Austria’s APA news
agency that 15 house searches have taken place and several people have been
arrested.
Five people have died, including an assailant, and 17 others
were wounded in a shooting in the heart of Vienna hours before a coronavirus
lockdown started, Austrian authorities said Tuesday.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said two men and two women
have died from their injuries in the attack Monday evening. A suspected
attacker, who was carrying an assault rifle and a fake suicide vest, was also
shot and killed by police.
Vienna’s hospital service said seven people were in
life-threatening condition Tuesday after the attack, the Austrian news agency
APA reported. In total, 17 people were being treated in hospitals, with gunshot
wounds but also cuts.
Nehammer said that initial investigations indicate the
suspect who was killed had sympathized with the Islamic State group. Police
searched his apartment and other premises as well, APA reported.
“We experienced an attack last night by at least one
Islamist terrorist,” Nehammer told reporters. He declined to elaborate, citing
the ongoing investigation.
Authorities were still trying to determine whether further
attackers may be on the run, he said. People in Vienna were urged to stay at
home if possible on Tuesday and children did not have to go to school. Some
1,000 police officers were on duty in Vienna on Tuesday morning.
Among those wounded in the attack was a police officer, said
Nehammer. The 28-year-old officer was in the hospital but was no longer in a
life-threatening condition.
The shooting began shortly after 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) Monday
near Vienna’s main synagogue as many people were enjoying a last night of open
restaurants and bars before a month-long coronavirus lockdown, which started at
midnight.
Vienna police chief Gerhard Puerstl said the attacker was
killed at 8:09 p.m.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that “we are victims of a
despicable terror attack in the federal capital.”
Unverified footage posted on social media showed a gunman
walking through the streets, apparently shooting at people at random, wounding
several. It was unclear whether the person seen shooting was the same
individual in each video.
Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister said he saw at least one person
shoot at people sitting outside at bars in the street below his window near the
city’s main synagogue.
“They were shooting at least 100 rounds just outside our
building,” Hofmeister said. “All these bars have tables outside. This evening
is the last evening before the lockdown.”
Authorities said residents have uploaded 20,000 videos of
the attack to police.
The attack drew swift condemnation and assurances of support
from leaders around Europe, including from French President Emmanuel Macron,
whose country has experienced three Islamist attacks in recent weeks, and
German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“The Islamist terror is our common enemy,” Merkel spokesman
Steffen Seibert tweeted. “The battle against these murderers and their
instigators is our common fight.”
U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted Monday night as he
prepared for his final rally ahead of Election Day: “Our prayers are with the
people of Vienna after yet another vile act of terrorism in Europe.”
“These evil attacks against innocent people must stop,”
Trump added. “The U.S. stands with Austria, France, and all of Europe in the
fight against terrorists, including radical Islamic terrorists.”
Austria’s military has provided 75 soldiers to guard key
sites in Vienna, freeing up police to continue the investigation. Germany and
Hungary have also offered to send tactical police units to support their
Austrian colleagues.
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