November 2nd 2020, 8pm local time
As people tried to enjoy their last night before a curfew went into effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an Islamist terrorist attack targeting six locations in Vienna, Austria killed four people and injured over twenty others. Within minutes, police officers shot and killed one assailant and the attack came to a halt. Police sealed off most of Vienna and urged the public to shelter in place. Public transport was shut down and police scoured the city searching for any accomplices.
In the hours following the attack, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer made it clear that at least one other suspect connected to the attack was at large. Nehammer said, “According to what we currently know, at least one perpetrator is still on the run.” It remains unclear why Nehammer was convinced of a secondary suspect linked to the attack at this stage of the investigation. The possibility of additional suspects persisted into the next morning when Austrian Chancellor Kurz declared, “ We will find and hunt down the perpetrators, those behind this and their associates and mete out a just sentence. And we will pursue all those who have anything to do with this outrage with all available means.”
That day, Austrian police raided 18 properties and arrested 14 people in a massive manhunt. According to Interior Minister Nehammer all of those arrested in Austria have a migration background. Vienna police chief Gerhard Puerstl added that some were dual citizens of Bangladesh, North Macedonia, Turkey or Russia. Additionally, four of the suspects arrested in Austria following the attack also have criminal convictions for terrorism-related offences. Two of those terror convictions involved attempted ‘honour killings’ — whereby a Muslim kills a member of a family over a percieved shame or dishonor brought upon the family.
Meanwhile, police in Switzerland arrested two men near Zurich with links to the attack in Austria. According to a report, the suspects, aged 18 and 24, were arrested in the city of Winterthur and are citizens of Switzerland. According to reports, the justice minister said the two were friends with…
