The 20-year-old assassin, who shot four people on November 2, 2020, had four supporters who got him ammunition and weapons. However, only three are in custody.
In a few days it will mark the anniversary of the terrorist attack in Vienna. On November 2, 2020, a 20-year-old fired an assault rifle and a pistol at random in downtown Vienna at passers-by and local guests. He killed four people and injured another 38, including 23 seriously. It was a mild November evening that many still used to go out. Because the second corona lockdown started the following day.
Less than a year later, the investigations are almost complete. Chief investigator Michael Lohnegger is in good spirits to be able to present the final report to the public prosecutor’s office “by early 2022 at the latest”. What is still missing is an expert opinion on the radicalization of an accused as well as the evaluation of data carriers and the resulting interrogations. Everything else has now been clarified, said Lohnegger on Wednesday at a joint press conference with public prosecutor Nina Bussek.
Most important finding: The single perpetrator theory has been confirmed. “The assassin walked from home to the city center,” said Lohnegger. This was found out through the use of sniffer dogs.
The current status of the investigation in figures: 32 arrests, 46 house searches, 340 testimony of witnesses, 1000 received reports, 90 account openings, analysis of 1900 hours of video material, securing of 15 terabytes of data, 150 telephone surveillance, application of 40 requests for legal assistance worldwide. Since the attack, three suspects have been charged with membership in a terrorist organization, two of whom have been convicted. “Intensive investigations” are currently underway against 30 people, as Bussek emphasized. Four of them are suspected of having helped the assassin obtain weapons and ammunition.
One person is in custody, two in custody. The fact that the fourth person is at large has legal reasons, according to Bussek. It was not possible to determine whether the man even knew for what purpose the weapons were being bought.
The public prosecutor’s office for business and corruption started investigations against two officials of the Vienna State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter-Terrorism in February.
The reason: suspected abuse of office. Possible misconduct in the run-up to the attack are being investigated. The procedure is currently still ongoing. A project report is still with the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office.