Locals shocked because Vienna terrorist came from their village: Say his parents are not fanatics

Residents of Celopek near Tetovo in North Macedonia are shocked and in disbelief that the family of Kujtim Fejzulai is from their village. He is allegedly one of the terrorists who carried out the attack in Vienna on Monday night.

"We can't believe it. We don't know him well, Kujtim was born in Vienna and I never saw him. His parents are not extremists or religious fanatics. These are people who worked normally and lived a peaceful life. It's really not clear to me how this could have happened," say the residents of the village of Celopek, 24sata.hr writes.

Namely, Macedonian police sources report that the family of Kujtim Fejzulai is from the village of Celopek.

The family moved to Austria more than two decades ago, and Kujtim was born in Vienna in 2000. Austrian police contacted the Macedonian police to request additional information about the killer.

Kujtim Fejzulai had dual Macedonian and Austrian citizenship, and was recently convicted for trying to travel to Syria and join so-called Islamic State.

He was released on December 5.

Austiran Minister Nehammer confirmed that the young man posted a photo on Instagram before the attack, showing him holding a rifle, a pistol and a machete, the same weapons that he probably used in the attack.

He was killed in an action by the Austrian police.

The Austrian Ministry of Interior confirmed that as part of the investigation, 15 houses were searched and several people arrested.

Austrian media reported that, in connection with the attack, two people were arrested in the town of St. Polten.

"It is with great sadness that we follow the events in Vienna. Our thoughts are with the brave police officers and innocent citizens of Vienna who were the victims of the terrorist attack. We express our deepest condolences. Terror, violence and hatred have no religion. Terrorists and murderers have no right to invoke Islam or any other religion," said the Islamic Center.

The former Kujtima's ex officio lawyer also commented on everything.

"He came from a perfectly normal family. For me, this was a young man who had the misfortune of making friends with the wrong people. If he had gone boxing instead of going to the mosque, he would have become a boxer," the attacker was vividly described by his ex-officio lawyer Nikolaus Rast.

He added that he would never have expect the young man he defended in 2019 to become a murderer.

"We cannot believe that someone from our village could become a terrorist. What needs to happen in that head, we are a peaceful people, but there are weeds in every grain. We are very sorry, and there is no justification for the killer," say the residents of Celopek.

(Telegraf.rs)