Vienna shooter was Daesh sympathizer just released by Austria police

The 20-year-old attacker who recently opened fire on Vienna citizens had earlier spent a few months in an Austrian jail for condoning terrorism, but was released shortly before committing the horrendous crime, media reports say.

The Austrian police shot down a gunman after he killed four people in a rampage in the heart of Vienna on Monday night.

The shooter also injured 22 in what was the deadliest attack in Austria’s capital for decades, moving through Vienna’s inner city and shooting at passers-by for nine minutes from about 8 pm, until he was shot dead by police.

The attacker was identified by Interior Minister Karl Nehammer as 20-year-old Kujtim Fejzulai.

The ministry said Fejzulai, a dual citizen of Austria and North Macedonia, had been sentenced to 22 months in jail in April 2019 for attempting to travel to Syria to join Daesh, and had been released early in December.

Daesh finally claimed responsibility for the Monday attack, proving that Fejzulai was one of their sympathizers in the heart of Europe.

SS