Austrian authorities said they have detained 14 people in connection with what Chancellor Sebastian Kurz described as a “repulsive terror attack” in Vienna that killed four people.
The UK has preemptively raised its terror threat level to “severe” from “substantial” following the attacks in France and Austria.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said on Twitter yesterday that the move was a “precautionary measure and is not based on any specific threat”.
“The public should continue to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police,” she tweeted.
Bu, Austrian Police urged people to stay indoors as they hunt for suspects after gunmen opened fire at six locations in the city centre on the evening of November 2.
Two men and two women died of their wounds and 22 other people were wounded.
Police shot dead a suspect identified as a 20-year-old dual national of Austria and North Macedonia, who had a previous terror conviction.
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Police conducted a series of raids in Vienna and Lower Austria, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said yesterday, adding that they have found no evidence that a second shooter was involved.
The attacker was named as Kujtim Fejzulai, a man born in Austria with roots in North Macedonia who was sentenced to 22 months in prison in April last year because he had tried to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State extremist group. He was granted early release in December.
He “managed to fool the deradicalisation programme of the justice system, to fool the people in it, and to get an early release through this,” Nehammer told a news conference.
The minister earlier said the dead assailant had been convicted under a law that punishes membership in terrorist organizations.
North Macedonia’s Interior Ministry said that, according to a list of suspects provided by Austrian police, two other dual citizens of Austria and North Macedonia are suspected of involvement in the Vienna attack.
The ministry, which vowed to cooperate fully with Austrian authorities in the the case, said the two suspects, identified as A.G. and U.A., were born in Austria.
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