(Vienna) The young Austrian killed Thursday as he was preparing to commit a “terrorist attack” against the Israeli consulate in Munich, Germany, did not show signs of danger despite suspicions of radicalization, according to the authorities of the Alpine country.
A “complete search took place on Thursday evening” at his home in the Salzburg region of Austria, and at this stage “no weapons or propaganda material from the Islamic State group (IS)” have been discovered, the Director General of Public Security, Franz Ruf, said at a press conference in Vienna on Friday.
However, “data carriers” (electronic devices, USB sticks, etc.) were seized and are currently being assessed.
Despite a ban on carrying weapons in force until 2028, the 18-year-old had acquired on Wednesday, the day before the events, a “category C weapon”, an old-model rifle, equipped with a bayonet, as well as “around fifty cartridges”.
His “parents went to the police on Thursday morning to report that he had not turned up for work,” Ruf added.
Their son, of Bosnian origin, had in fact gone to Munich, where he was killed by the police after firing several shots at around 9 a.m. at police officers guarding sensitive buildings, including the Israeli consulate general.
German police have called it a “terrorist attack” on the day commemorating the deadly hostage-taking of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games.
The shooter had previously attracted attention following altercations with classmates that resulted in bodily injuries, according to the Salzburg prosecutor’s office.
Last year, investigators discovered “three videos” recorded in 2021 showing scenes from a game “with Islamist content”.
On one of them, he had used “an avatar and a flag of the Al-Nusra Front”, a jihadist group active in Syria, also known as Hayat Tahrir al-Cham (HTS), Mr Ruf said.
But “the investigation did not establish that the defendant transmitted the videos to other people” and “prove the intention to act”, especially since the young man did not frequent Islamist circles, prosecutors explained in a press release.
The procedure was closed in April 2023.
Germany has been on high alert for months because it considers itself “in the crosshairs of jihadist organizations.” A planned attack targeting concerts by American star Taylor Swift was also foiled in Vienna, Austria, in early August.