Incident Summary:
11/02/2020: An assailant wearing a fake suicide vest opened fire on civilians outside of Seitenstettengasse Temple 4, 1010 Wien, in Vienna, Austria. The assailant continued to open fire on civilians in Salzgries, Fleischmarkt, Bauernmarkt, Graben and, Morzinplatz areas before being shot and killed by police. In addition to the assailant, four people were killed and 22 others were injured in the attack. Kujtim Fejzulai, an unaffiliated individual, claimed responsibility for the incident and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), using the name Abu Dujana al-Albani. Sources noted the Fejzulai was previously arrested for attempting to travel to Syria to join the group. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the incident, calling Fejzulai a "soldier of the caliphate."
Overview
GTD ID:
202011020007
When:
2020-11-02
Country:
Austria
Region:
Western Europe
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Vienna
City:
Vienna
Location Details:
The incident occurred at Seitenstettengasse 4, 1010 Wien.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Police |
Name of Entity |
Austrian Federal Police |
Specific Description |
Police Officer |
Nationality of Target |
Austria |
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
Name of Entity |
Not Applicable |
Specific Description |
Civilians |
Nationality of Target |
Multinational |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
Firearms |
Handgun |
Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
Weapon Details |
An automatic rifle, a pistol, a machete, and a fake explosives-laden vest were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | Yes |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
The victims included one German, three Austrians, one dual Portuguese-Luxembourger citizen, one dual Swiss-German citizen, one Bosnian, one Chinese, one Afghan, two Slovaks, two Germans, and thirteen Austrians. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Jihadi-inspired extremists |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Video) |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
1 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
5 Fatalities / 22 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
5 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
1 |
Total Number of Injured |
22 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
"Four people 'killed in cold blood' in Vienna during night of terror," CNN, November 3, 2020. |
"Vienna terror attack: Isis claims responsibility for shooting rampage that killed four victims," The Independent, November 3, 2020. |
"Authorities in Vienna now believe shooter who killed 4 likely acted alone," ABC News, November 3, 2020. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties