German police raid flats and offices over Vienna attack
German police said Friday they are raiding
apartments and offices over possible links to the Austrian Islamic State
sympathiser who went on a deadly gun rampage in central Vienna.
The sites in Osnabrück, Kassel as well as in the Pinneberg area that were searched belong to four people, who "are not believed to be involved in the attack," said the federal criminal agency (BKA).
"But there may be links to the alleged assassin," it added on Twitter.
Nach dem bisherigen Stand der Ermittlungen besteht gegen die vier von den heutigen Maßnahmen betroffenen Personen kein Anfangsverdacht für eine Beteiligung an dem Anschlagsgeschehen.
Es sollen jedoch Verbindungen zu dem mutmaßlichen Attentäter bestanden haben.
— Bundeskriminalamt (@bka) November 6, 2020
The searches were carried out on a request from the Austrian authorities and were aimed at "securing material that could be proof".
"Two of the individuals are believed to have met the suspected assailant in July 2020 in Vienna," the agency added.
The gunman, identified as 20-year-old dual Austrian-Macedonian national Kujtim Fejzulai, was killed by police after going on a shooting spree in Vienna on Monday evening that left four people dead.
Austrian police detained 14 people in the wake of the shooting, the first major attack in the country for decades and the first blamed on a jihadist.
Germany's Der Spiegel magazine had reported earlier this week that the Vienna attacker had made contact with German Islamists during an attempt to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group.
The investigation has also led to Switzerland, where prosecutors have confirmed that two Swiss men aged 18 and 24 who were arrested Wednesday had already been the targets of criminal cases over terrorism offences.
READ ALSO: Half of those arrested after Vienna attack 'had previous terrorism or violence convictions'
Comments
See Also
The sites in Osnabrück, Kassel as well as in the Pinneberg area that were searched belong to four people, who "are not believed to be involved in the attack," said the federal criminal agency (BKA).
"But there may be links to the alleged assassin," it added on Twitter.
Nach dem bisherigen Stand der Ermittlungen besteht gegen die vier von den heutigen Maßnahmen betroffenen Personen kein Anfangsverdacht für eine Beteiligung an dem Anschlagsgeschehen.
— Bundeskriminalamt (@bka) November 6, 2020
Es sollen jedoch Verbindungen zu dem mutmaßlichen Attentäter bestanden haben.
The searches were carried out on a request from the Austrian authorities and were aimed at "securing material that could be proof".
"Two of the individuals are believed to have met the suspected assailant in July 2020 in Vienna," the agency added.
The gunman, identified as 20-year-old dual Austrian-Macedonian national Kujtim Fejzulai, was killed by police after going on a shooting spree in Vienna on Monday evening that left four people dead.
Austrian police detained 14 people in the wake of the shooting, the first major attack in the country for decades and the first blamed on a jihadist.
Germany's Der Spiegel magazine had reported earlier this week that the Vienna attacker had made contact with German Islamists during an attempt to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group.
The investigation has also led to Switzerland, where prosecutors have confirmed that two Swiss men aged 18 and 24 who were arrested Wednesday had already been the targets of criminal cases over terrorism offences.
READ ALSO: Half of those arrested after Vienna attack 'had previous terrorism or violence convictions'
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.