18 votes

Public shooting in Vienna (Allegedly terror attacks)

Posted by Grzmot
Tags: austria.vienna, crime, terrorism, shootings.mass

Short Summary:

  • On Monday, approximately 20:00 local time, public shootings occured at multiple places in Vienna, Austria.
  • 4 deaths in total, one perp, 3 civilians. 15 people are severely injured, including one member of the police.
  • Attacker(s) is/were armed with a rifle and several handguns, and were wearing a dummy explosive vest.
  • The dead perpetrator has been investigated over the night, identified as a sympathisant of IS ("Islamic State"). There have been multiple arrests and house searches of the people surrounding this person by Austrian SWAT (Kobra).
  • Schools are closed on Tuesday (today).
  • In total, six places have been hit: Morzinplatz, Salzgries, Seitenstettengasse, Graben, Bauernmarkt und Fleischmarkt
  • The police is still currently working with military support.
  • Locals are urged to stay home today and it's difficult to get reliable updates.
  • The police has asked the public to refrain from posting videos/pictures on social media, and instead send it to them, as posting material could endanger the police and military working.
  • Multiple perpetrators are possible, but not confirmed.
  • The attack is currently considered to be an Islamic terror attack.

Best place to get news: @LPDWien (local police department Vienna) on Twitter: https://nitter.net/lpdwien They post relevant information in both English and German.

11 comments

  1. [2]
    Grzmot
    Link
    Fun fact: While the shooting was ongoing, someone screamed from a window at the perpetrator: "Fuck off, asshole!" which is very typical for people living in Vienna.

    Fun fact: While the shooting was ongoing, someone screamed from a window at the perpetrator: "Fuck off, asshole!" which is very typical for people living in Vienna.

    7 votes
    1. nothis
      Link Parent
      That was the best part of the night for me. Encapsulates the Viennese spirit perfectly.

      That was the best part of the night for me. Encapsulates the Viennese spirit perfectly.

      2 votes
  2. Grzmot
    Link
    UPDATE: The perpetrator was 20 years old He was armed with an assault rifle (exact model not public), a pistol and a machete Police responded very quickly, shooting started "shortly before 20:00"...

    UPDATE:

    • The perpetrator was 20 years old
    • He was armed with an assault rifle (exact model not public), a pistol and a machete
    • Police responded very quickly, shooting started "shortly before 20:00" and at 20:09 police shot the man dead
    • 4 civilian victims ("older lady, older man, young man and a waittress"), 17 injured heavily, of those 17 currently 7 are still in critical condition and at risk of death in the hospital
    • The perpetrator was an Austrian with family roots in northern Mazedonia. He has tried emigrating to Syria in the past, and was arrested and sentenced to 22 months in prison on the 25th April 2019 due to being part of a terroristic organization. In December the same year he was released (probably due to good behaviour).
    • Police are currently searching for further perpetrators, and are not sure if the man acted on his own.

    Source (German): https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2020-11/terror-wien-anschlag-was-wir-wissen

    6 votes
  3. Grzmot
    Link
    UPDATE 4.11.20: Death toll remains at 4 22 people wounded in total, this most likely includes the original 17 severly wounded. Wounded police officer is out of critical condition after surgery The...

    UPDATE 4.11.20:

    • Death toll remains at 4
    • 22 people wounded in total, this most likely includes the original 17 severly wounded.
    • Wounded police officer is out of critical condition after surgery
    • The neutralized gunman held dual citizenship (Austria, North Macedonia) with Albanian family roots
    • The assault of this one gunman lasted 9 minutes in total, before he was killed on site by a WEGA team (SWAT team local to Vienna)
    • Still unclear if the gunman acted on his own, however it's possible he was a lone wolf.
    • 18 house searches, 14 arrests so far in the investigation
    • Military has taken over securing the sites so that the entire Vienna police force can be mobilized in the investigation

    Source: https://nitter.net/LPDWien/status/1323640604656570368#m

    5 votes
  4. [2]
    JoylessAubergine
    Link
    Very worrying that they (one/some) escaped, especially because the Lyon church shooter has escaped too. It must be very encouraging for potential attackers to see it doesn't necessarily end in...

    Very worrying that they (one/some) escaped, especially because the Lyon church shooter has escaped too. It must be very encouraging for potential attackers to see it doesn't necessarily end in death.

    I wonder whether the lockdowns, which seems to have fermented a growth in religiosity across the world, has helped radicalise people weren't "traditionally" vulnerable to becoming active terrorists. One of the shooters here was an Albanian and the beheading in France was a Chechen, neither group are particularly common terrorists in the west. Another worrying development as we are heading into a second lockdown in a lot of Europe.

    2 votes
    1. nothis
      Link Parent
      I think there's a big chance the guy acted alone, at least that night. More confirmed details emerge about the path he took (he was taken out in 10 minutes!) and it seems to narrow it down quite a...

      I think there's a big chance the guy acted alone, at least that night. More confirmed details emerge about the path he took (he was taken out in 10 minutes!) and it seems to narrow it down quite a bit. These attacks always start with multiple shooters reported and general confusion, then the number goes down and down, often to an single person. Well, that's my hope, at least.

      3 votes
  5. [5]
    nothis
    Link
    Dammit, what does Austria even have to do with anything? Not involved in any wars whatsoever.

    Dammit, what does Austria even have to do with anything? Not involved in any wars whatsoever.

    1. [4]
      Grzmot
      Link Parent
      It's part of the Western World, which is the target for the neverending war of the Islamic State.

      It's part of the Western World, which is the target for the neverending war of the Islamic State.

      2 votes
      1. [3]
        ohyran
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        Well technically the Middle east is Daesh focus, Europe and the US are just steps to bind people to them as "the only muslim group" (So Daesh can then, unmolested, commit genocide on mostly other...
        • Exemplary

        Well technically the Middle east is Daesh focus, Europe and the US are just steps to bind people to them as "the only muslim group" (So Daesh can then, unmolested, commit genocide on mostly other Muslims). By making Europe and the US overreact and attack all people who are muslim they can get that radicalization AND make what is in effect just an empty PR move for them.

        EDIT: as an example the foundational current goal of Daesh is to purify Islamic Society before it can ever war with non-Islamic societies, as they are like many christian sects, like Baptists, convinced we live in the end days and that after their former leader there would only be four more before the definitive battle in Syria against "Rome" (Ie European/Christian groups in their world view) which marks the return of god etc etc etc. Which to me is the scary bit about them and their otherwise (lets be fair) dreary conservatism, protofascism, and theocratic garblings.

        From William McCants, The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State via Wikipedia

        References to the End Times fill Islamic State propaganda. It's a big selling point with foreign fighters, who want to travel to the lands where the final battles of the apocalypse will take place. The civil wars raging in those countries today [Iraq and Syria] lend credibility to the prophecies. The Islamic State has stoked the apocalyptic fire. [...] For Bin Laden's generation, the apocalypse wasn't a great recruiting pitch. Governments in the Middle East two decades ago were more stable, and sectarianism was more subdued. It was better to recruit by calling to arms against corruption and tyranny than against the Antichrist. Today, though, the apocalyptic recruiting pitch makes more sense than before.

        12 votes
        1. [2]
          Kenny
          Link Parent
          This is a wild generalization. There are many different eschatological beliefs even within the Baptist denomination and to equate it to a sect that effectively wants to commit genocide, it's...

          like Baptists

          This is a wild generalization. There are many different eschatological beliefs even within the Baptist denomination and to equate it to a sect that effectively wants to commit genocide, it's fairly unloving.

          1 vote
          1. ohyran
            Link Parent
            Well they are an apocalyptic sect... I mean there are a lot of apocalyptic sects I just took one I assumed we knew about. Baptists. There are apocalyptic sects in a lot of religions. If that needs...

            Well they are an apocalyptic sect... I mean there are a lot of apocalyptic sects I just took one I assumed we knew about. Baptists. There are apocalyptic sects in a lot of religions.
            If that needs clarification - I don't think Baptists are the same as Daesh. They just have a similarity.

            2 votes