9 Minutes in Hell: A Reflection on the Vienna Shooting and the Rising Threat of Terrorism in Europe
News Analysis by Mounia el Khawand, Staff Writer
November 19th, 2020
For over forty years, Vienna had been spared the violent terror attacks perpetrated in other European capitals, such as Paris, London, and Berlin. But the reputation of Vienna as one of the continent’s safest cities came crumbling down on Monday, the 2nd of November, 2020, at 20:00, local time.
For 9 minutes, the cobbled-streets of Vienna’s popular nightlife district (aptly named the Bermuda Triangle for its tendency to draw in partygoers for days) were turned into a bloodbath.
For 9 minutes, innocent people, who had been having one final night out before a second lockdown amidst rising coronavirus threats, were forced to witness hell by a 20-year-old gunman, armed with an automatic rifle, a handgun, and a machete, and wearing a replica explosive belt.
For 9 minutes, he rampaged through the streets of Vienna, opening fire against restaurant and bar patrons, before finally being shot dead by the police, but not before taking the lives of 4 people, and injuring 23 others.
The sheer number of rounds fired caused eye-witnesses to believe there had been more than one gunman, and the police had to comb through hours of footage before determining that the “Islamist terrorist,” – as described by Austrian authorities – had acted alone.
Massive police roadblocks were set up all around the city center, and police raids resulted in the arrest of 14 people suspected of having helped the assailant, with two mores detained by Swiss police. Germany and the Czech Republic bolstered security checks at their borders, believing that potential accomplices might have fled in their direction.
ISIS asserted responsibility for the assault, which Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz described as a “repulsive terror attack.” The Islamic State identified the gunman as Abu Dujana Al-Albany. Whether the terrorist group had taken part in the preparations of the attack remains unclear, especially since ISIS has a history of claiming responsibility for acts perpetrated by individuals acting of their own volition.
Austrian authorities, on the other hand, identified the gunman as Austrian-Macedonian Kujtim Fejzulai. In April of 2019, he had been sentenced to 22 months in jail for terrorist association, and attempting to join ISIS jihadists in Syria. However, Fejzulai was released in December of 2019, because of his young age, good behavior, and supposed participation in a de-radicalization program.
The Minister of Interior, Karl Nehammer, claimed that the terrorist might have fooled the organizers of the program, an accusation that the de-radicalization organization promptly refuted.
How come, then, that a man with such a precedent for terrorist association, managed to slip past the Austrian police’s vigilance, and carry out his despicable plan?
The attack sent a shockwave through Austria’s political institutions, with Nehammer accusing his predecessor of weakening the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (BVT), while opposition parties denounced the current government for attempting to shift the blame.
However, on Friday, the Austrian government did admit “intolerable mistakes,” especially in underestimating the extent of the threat that the jihadist posed. The gravest mistake committed was the failure to follow up on some particularly concerning intelligence from Slovakian authorities. Indeed, the gunman had attempted to purchase ammunition for his AK-47 in Slovakia, but returned empty-handed since he did not bear a gun license.
“Something obviously went wrong in communication,” said the Minister of Interior.
After revealing that the gunman had been in contact with people closely monitored by German intelligence, the Chief of Vienna’s police, Gerhard Puerstl, said that “These facts together with the findings that emerged from the information from Slovakia could have led to a different outcome regarding the assessment of the threat posed by the perpetrator.”
On Tuesday morning, the hustling and bustling streets of Vienna’s city center were devoid of the usual citizens and tourists going about their day, and were instead the home to hundreds of heavily armed police officers.
In the Bermuda Triangle, half-drunk pints could be found in certain restaurants. Unknowing passersby could have thought that patrons had just left. But further away, bloodstains and upturned chairs, hastily knocked over in the panic, were a testament to the previous night’s events.
With the Vienna shooting coming on the heels of two terrorist attacks in France, many people fear the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment all across Europe.
When asked about the events that unfolded on Monday night, Sarah Yehya, a young Hijabi woman who was in Vienna at the time, told The Phoenix Daily, “We were shocked quite frankly. Terror attacks have found their way to France and Germany, but Austria was always a red line. As a hijabi, I was instantly scared of islamophobic attacks. We have heard 9/11 stories enough to fear wearing a hijab in public. […] That night, I thought of how I’d be able to go down to the park the next morning, or how I could casually stroll in the supermarket - but when I actually went down the next day, it did not feel any different, all was normal. Keep in mind, it was never easy, wherever we go you sense some stares - even prior to the attack. Since always, my first instincts when talking to anyone, be it a cashier, a waiter, a fellow citizen... my head goes are they islamophobic? Or are they just having a bad day? Many people will think I am exaggerating, but this is a first-hand experience from a hijabi foreigner on European grounds, not just Austrian.”
Yehya went on to praise the Austrian government for their efforts to curb any potential rise of islamophobic sentiments. “[The government] eased up the situation and called for unity. The current Austrian government, in my opinion, is the best in Europe at the moment,” she said.
Indeed, the Austrian government went to tremendous lengths to ensure that society would not be fractured by the tragedy.
Chancellor Kurz said “This is no fight between Christians and Muslims, or between Austrians and migrants. This is a fight between civilization and barbarism. […] our enemy is never all those belonging to a religion, our enemy is never all the people that come from a particular country […] our enemy is extremists and terrorists.”
The president of the Islamic Faith Community in Austria, Ümit Vural, condemned the “cowardly, revolting attack,” which he accused of being “an attack on our Vienna” and “an attack on all of us,” his words an echo of those spoken by the Chancellor.
The mosque at which the gunman worshipped and the Islamic situation which he was a part of, both accused to have contributed immensely to his radicalization, were shut down and accused of breaking religious doctrine and the Austrian constitution. Integration Minister Susanne Raab stressed on the fact that this was in no way an attack against Austria’s Muslim community, as “The goal of terrorism is to drive a wedge into our society — between Muslims and non-Muslims.”
The Vienna attack stirred reactions from many world leaders. In the UK, terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe, as precautionary measure.
European Council President Charles Michel, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leye, US President Donald Trump, US President-Elect Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the German Foreign Ministry have all condemned the attack, and extended their sympathy to the families of the victims and the people of Vienna.
Indeed, the people of Vienna remain strong. “No terrorist attack will succeed in tearing up or dividing our society,” assures Nehammer.
When asked about the events of the night and fear of societal fracture, a passerby told the BBC “it would take more than a lone attacker to break Vienna's spirit.”
During the events of the night, operagoers at Vienna’s renowned opera house were informed of the ongoing attack and asked to remain calmly in their seats while the performance continued. A video of the musicians went viral in a tweet by Barbara Lovett, in which she said, “Police kept us safe inside the Vienna State Opera after tonight's performance. While we waited, members of the Vienna Philharmonic started to play. No attack will ever stop the music in Vienna.”