(Deutsche Welle) At least one of the assailants in the Vienna attack was known to police. The 20-year-old, shot dead on Monday evening, had made several attempts to leave the country and join the so-called Islamic State (IS). It would appear, however, that the authorities did not see him as a potential terrorist.
Similar miscalculations have happened in Germany too.
As of September 1, 2020, German security forces counted 627 potential terrorists. One of them was the 20-year-old Syrian Abdullah al-H., who attacked a homosexual couple with a kitchen knife on October 4 in Dresden, although his movements were monitored by police. One of the victims was seriously wounded, the other even died of his wounds shortly afterwards.
