A man armed with a rifle attacked people in multiple locations in Vienna, Austria, on Nov. 2, killing four and injuring 22. Police killed the gunman in a shootout.
The shooter was identified as a 20-year-old from North Macedonia who had been released from prison in December 2019 after being jailed that April on charges of attempting to travel to Syria to join the Islamist militant group Daesh.
Three people were killed in Nice, France, on Oct. 29 when a man armed with a knife attacked people in a church. The attacker was shot by police and detained. Authorities described the attack as an act of Islamist terrorism.
In a second incident on the same day, in the town of Montfavet, a man threatening police with a handgun was shot and killed. The man’s motive was not known at press time.
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 534th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.
A man in Reading, England, stabbed six people in Forbury Gardens park on June 20, killing three, including an American expatriate. The attacker was arrested within five minutes of the attack’s unfolding.
The attacker was identified as a Libyan national who had been granted asylum in 2012. He was not on any terrorist watch lists, however the incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
On May 19, the European airline EasyJet announced that more than 9 million online customer accounts had been compromised in a hacking attack dating back to January. Information stolen included email addresses and travel histories. At least 2,208 customers also had all of their credit card information stolen. EasyJet said that by early April, they had notified each customer whose credit card information had been stolen.
According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, knife crime in England and Wales was at a record high in 2019, with 45,627 reported attacks. Knife crime statistics include any offense in which a knife was involved, such as a robbery, even if no stabbing occurred.
At press time, the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a decrease in overall crime in the UK, including knife crimes.
A gunman opened fire on two hookah bars in the city of Hanau, western Germany, on the evening of Feb. 19, killing eight people and injuring five others. Each of the people shot was of Middle Eastern or Turkish origin.
The gunman was later found dead of suicide in his home along with the body of his mother, whom it is believed he also murdered. He was identified as a German citizen who had expressed far-right and anti-immigrant beliefs on the internet. He was licensed to own the gun he used in the attacks. The incident is being treated as an act of terrorism by German authorities.
Three people, two from China and one from Australia, were stabbed and injured in a knife attack on the island of Hulhumale, Maldives, on Feb. 4. A local group with ties to the Islamist militant group Daesh claimed responsibility. Three men, described by police as “Jihadists,” were arrested for the attack.
