Acts of Terrorism megathread

[Maladict]

 

[Syt]

Casualty figures are becoming clearer:
- 1 dead civilian
- 15 injured civilians (7 severely)
- 1 dead attacker (assault rifle found on him)
- 1 wounded police officer (earlier reports of him being dead were exaggerated)

Manhunt for unknown number of additional attackers continues. Overall I guess we got lucky. It was a warm day in Vienna, it's the last day of open bars and restaurants before the lockdown, and the attack started in the bermuda triangle party area of Vienna where places were crowded, sitting inside and outside, so there was a potential for much higher casualty numbers.

[Syt]

Number of deaths has risen during the night. We're at two dead civilians, the dead attacker, and one dead police officer. Over a dozen wounded.

Police said in a press conference just now the police daid that the killed attacker was an IS sympathizer. He was wearing a pretend suicide vest. They're still searching for one or more additional attackers. School is suspended in Vienna and people are advised to stay indoors and avoid the 1st District if possible.

Whether or not there's additional attackers is unclear, police say they can't rule it out and didn't confirm.

[Admiral Yi]

- 1 wounded police officer (earlier reports of him being dead were exaggerated)

He got better.

[Syt]

Interesting the contrast in live coverage yesterday.

ORF (fee financed public TV) and Puls24 (a young news station) followed police requests to not share any of the videos/images making the rounds of social media. They covered things calmly, marking rumors as such, focused on facts and avoided speculation. Live news tickers from "serious" papers like Standard (left), Presse (conservative), Kurier (center-right) did the same.

Heute, OE24 and Krone, on the tabloid end, shared images and videos, fired rumors and speculated wildly. OE24 is especially criticized for repeatedly showing an uncensored video of a person being shot repeatedly point blank without commentary/warning while presenting rumors as facts and drawing wild conclusions, completely focusing on the spectacle and sensationalism.

[Syt]

Details about the attacker. 20 years old, born in Austria, had Austrian and North Macedonian (ex-FYROM) passports.

In April 2019 he was sentenced to 22 months in jail under youth criminal law, because he and a friend had traveled to the Turkish/Syrian border to be trained by the IS. They left when they realized that fighting in a civil war is not as fun as it sounds. Supposedly he was constantly arguing with his parents and had "gone to the wrong mosque" where he was indoctrinated and portrayed his leaving as a way "to have his own apartment and income" - instead he was housed in a "rat hole without running water."

He was released on probation in December. He claimed in court that they had abandoned their Islamist ways. I guess one of them was lying and judges/the law might not be as lenient in future.

[Syt]

Chancellor Kurz surprisingly conciliatory - his rhetoric usually sounds different. Says in a speech that this was an attack on our free society and peaceful co-existence, but that it would not split society. That the enemy are terrorists, not members of a religion. That it's not a fight between Christians and Muslims, or Austrians and Immigrants, but between civilization and barbary.

[Syt]

In one of the videos being shared someone shouts from a window "Schleich di, du oaschloch!" at the attacker ("Fuck off, asshole!") which is widely agreed to be the appropriate Viennese response.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Chancellor Kurz surprisingly conciliatory - his rhetoric usually sounds different. Says in a speech that this was an attack on our free society and peaceful co-existence, but that it would not split society. That the enemy are terrorists, not members of a religion. That it's not a fight between Christians and Muslims, or Austrians and Immigrants, but between civilization and barbary.

a bit naive that

[mongers]

Chancellor Kurz surprisingly conciliatory - his rhetoric usually sounds different. Says in a speech that this was an attack on our free society and peaceful co-existence, but that it would not split society. That the enemy are terrorists, not members of a religion. That it's not a fight between Christians and Muslims, or Austrians and Immigrants, but between civilization and barbary.

a bit naive that

Yeah, a lot of Austrians aren't that civilized.


Just ask Syt. 

[Syt]

Police confirm that their downed officer was brought to safety by two Austrians of Turkish descent (both MMA fighters). Here's a (subtitled) video of one of them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhSGe3ze1gQ

[Syt]

Apparently a hostage situation at Ubisoft Montreal?
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1327331201976295430?s=20

[viper37]

Apparently a hostage situation at Ubisoft Montreal?
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1327331201976295430?s=20

News says it's in the same building, but it might not be UBI Soft.  Newschannel talk about armed robery.  Maybe he wanted an autographed copy of Assassin's Creed Valhalla and they said no?

[viper37]

Apparently, that was someone's idea of a joke.  I'm sure the UBI Soft employees stuck on the roof in that chilly automn weather (about -2) were all laughing.

[Razgovory]

That's not funny.