An attack was carried out by ‘several suspects armed with rifles,’ in Central Vienna, Austria, on Monday evening, reported AFP quoting the police. The police also added that there had been ‘six different shooting locations.’
Five people including the attacker who carried out the attack were killed in central Vienna in an attack that was described as a “repulsive terror attack” by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz.
The chancellor also added, at least one attacker was still at large.
Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig told the local media that 15 people had been taken to hospital, of whom seven were seriously injured.
While one person died on the spot and the suspect was killed by the police, four others succumbed to their injuries after being taken to a near-by hospital.
The attacker who was shot dead was a known IS sympathizer, reported AFP.
Gunshots were fired at around 8.00pm local time at the Seitenstettengasse in the city’s centrally-located first district.
There were two deceased people, as several others were injured, including one police officer, reported AFP quoting the police.
One suspect was ‘shot and killed by police officers,’ stated the Vienna police on its Twitter account.
The shooting began hours before Austria was to re-impose a coronavirus lockdown to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told public broadcaster ORF that the incident “appeared to be a terrorist attack,” and urged Viennese to remain indoors.
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The location of the incident is close to a major synagogue and the Vienna’s Jewish community Oskar Deutsch said that the shots had been fired ‘in the immediate vicinity’ of the Stadttempel synagogue, but added that it was unsure if the synagogue had been the target of the attack.
“It sounded like firecrackers, then we realised it was shots,” said one eyewitness, as per AFP.
The witness added, a shooter had “shot wildly with an automatic weapon,” before the police reached the spot.
