WEGA: The commander overseeing the anti-terror operation

Police officers from the Alarm Department Intervention Unit disabled the armed attacker with a Kalashnikov in a shootout on November 2, 2020 in Vienna. Their commander, Colonel Ernst Albrecht, talks about their thoughts on the situation.

There are shaky cell phone videos that show a man following a cruel, pre-prepared trail, with people running in panic for their lives. Gunshots can be heard, sporadically, also in staccato, and rising smoke can be seen. Everything eerie and somehow surreal. Yet these are recordings that couldn't be more real, as they show the terrorist attack in which five people were killed in Vienna last Monday. The terror only lasted nine minutes, then police officers stopped the attacker in a shootout. Commander Colonel Ernst Albrecht, who has been with the Vienna Alarm Department Intervention Unit for 25 years, describes how those officers think, who had to use firearms in this terrorist attack. SPARTANAT Video: Always ready, WEGA.

The commander of WEGA, Ernst Albrecht, in an interview.

No euphoria comes from the operation, he says, because people had to die, because anger and sadness prevail, because of the emerging question of why it had to come to this in the first place. If one had to describe a positive feeling, it might be that of having passed a great test, he explains. The dynamics of the situation left hardly any room for other thoughts, except for those of carrying out the operation as trained automatically in countless scenarios. "There is no room for other thoughts."

Sector patrols distributed across all of Vienna

WEGA intervention officers are continuously distributed throughout all of Vienna in so-called sector patrols, Albrecht says. "That's why it was possible for two WEGA patrols to arrive at the scene within a few minutes and disable the attacker in a shootout. The police officers already assumed an active shooter scenario upon arrival, which also guided their specific tactics," emphasized the WEGA commander.

WEGA and regular police officers in action against a terrorist.

The WEGA officer who fired the fatal shot appears self-reflective and mentally stable, says Albrecht. "But such an experience is a profound one for an officer, one can only be partially prepared for such a situation, such as in special psychological training in the WEGA basic training course or already in the police academy, to develop an awareness of the status as a weapon carrier and the possibility of using a firearm."

Dead people are a thorn in the flesh of every police officer

After an operation like this, a lot of time is spent talking about it, exchanging experiences, emphasizes Albrecht. Emotionally, it has been an intense experience for all policewomen and policemen, including those from the WEGA, "and this is honestly addressed among each other." Psychological support is also available with the "Peer Support" concept and can be accessed at any time. "The operation has again made us aware that only together can we withstand such an operation," Albrecht emphasizes. "The fact that people have died is a thorn in the flesh of every police officer - because that is exactly what we all want to prevent."

Ground markings by investigators at the spot where the terrorist was neutralized.

On November 6, 2020, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz awarded the WEGA officers who apprehended the attacker during the attack in Vienna's city center with the Golden Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria. Images from the ceremony: Awarded, WEGA.

Support for employees

The Psychological Service of the Ministry of the Interior, Peer Support, as well as the employee support of the Vienna State Police Directorate and the police chaplaincy provide employees with advice or personal support especially after difficult operations. More information HERE.

Could the attack have been prevented? HERE is the full story of the Vienna terror night on SPARTANAT.

Vienna 0211: We against the terror

You can get updated information on the situation from the Twitter account of the Vienna State Police Directorate: twitter.com/lpdwien

#fuckterrorism