Austrian minister: Vienna terrorist was convicted for trying to travel to Syria

One of the assailants in last night’s shooting attack in Vienna was a 20-year-old Austrian-North Macedonian dual national who had a previous terror conviction, says Interior Minister Karl Nehammer.

The minister says initial investigations indicate the suspect, who was killed, had sympathized with the Islamic State group.

“We experienced an attack last night by at least one Islamist terrorist,” Nehammer tells reporters.

“This is a radicalized person who felt close to IS,” the minister says, referring to the Islamic State terror group.

Nehammer later tells the Austrian APA new agency that the dead assailant, who had roots in the Balkan nation of North Macedonia, had a previous conviction under a law that punishes membership in terrorist organizations.

He was convicted in April 2019 for trying to travel to Syria, Nehammer says.

Fifteen house searches have taken place and several people have been arrested, he adds.

The attacker, he says, “was equipped with a fake explosive vest and and an automatic rifle, a handgun and a machete to carry out this repugnant attack on innocent citizens.”

— With agencies