The Same Stones, the Same Blood

It took him just nine minutes to kill four people and injure twenty-two

The Same Stones, the Same Blood. Attack on Europe

It was a Monday evening in Vienna’s historic center. Kujtim Fejzulai was at Desider-Friedmann-Platz, a square that already bears the weight of another massacre: a commemorative plaque, in fact, marks the spot where, in 1981, a Palestinian terrorist killed several members of the Austrian Jewish community. Fejzulai opened fire at 8:00 p.m. The first victim fell at the foot of the Jerusalemstiege, the staircase leading to the Jewish quarter.

From there, he continued along Judengasse, shooting indiscriminately at people sitting outside bars and killing a waitress. He turned onto Seitenstettegasse and shot a woman, who died in the hospital a few hours later. At Schwedenplatz, Fejzulai then killed a restaurant owner. Only then did he come face-to-face with law enforcement: he shot an officer, wounding him in the leg, then fled toward Morzinplatz, where he was intercepted and killed by WEGA special agents at Ruprechtsplatz.

It took him just nine minutes to kill four people and injure twenty-two. As soon as he was apprehended by the police, the officers did not touch him for hours because Fejzulai was wearing an explosive belt, which was later found to be fake after the bomb squad intervened.