Vienna gunman who killed 4 was released from prison last year

The man who brutally cut short four innocent lives Monday in Vienna previously tried to join the Islamic State, according to Austrian authorities.

Kujtim Fejzulai, a 20year-old Austrian-North Macedonian dual citizen, was identified as the suspect and previously had a terror conviction for trying to join the militant group in Syria, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Though authorities said Tuesday afternoon there is no indication that the minutes-long attack had been committed by a second assailant, police did detain 14 people with connections to Fejzulai, according to Interior Minister Karl Nehammer. Those detainees are being questioned.

Police also searched 18 properties, along with the suspected attacker’s apartment.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that the horrific scene “was clearly an Islamist terror attack.”

“It was an attack out of hatred — hatred for our fundamental values, hatred for our way of life, hatred for our democracy in which all people have equal rights and dignity,” said Kurz.

Nehammer noted that prior to the attack, the suspect posted a photo on social media showing him posing with the automatic rifle he used, as well as a machete.

During the attack, Fejzulai was also reportedly armed with a fake explosive vest and a handgun.

In April 2019, he was sentenced to 22 months behind bars though he was granted early release in December.

A previous attempt to strip the young man of his Austrian citizenship had been unsuccessful due to a lack of evidence.

“The fact is that the terrorist managed to deceive the judicial system’s deradicalization program” to secure his release, said Nehammer, who called for a reevaluation of said system.

On Tuesday, the Islamic State group claimed credit for the attack via their media arm Aamaq and referred to Fejzulai as a “soldier of the Caliphate” and dubbed him by the apparent nom de guerre Abu Dujana alAlbani.

Aamaq also released a video, purportedly showing Fejzulai pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, though it isn’t clear when the footage was filmed.