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VIENNA – Three people are killed and several wounded in shootings near a synagogue in Vienna, the Austrian capital, in an action the government suspects is terribly motivated. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said one of the dead was one of the suspects and the second was a civilian. The third victim, a woman who was injured in the attack, was announced by Mayor Michael Ludwig.
There is also information about a seriously injured police officer. According to the Austrian radio station ORF, 15 injured were being treated at the Vienna hospital, seven of them in serious condition. Police said the shooting took place at six different points, all near the street where the synagogue is located.
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According to the APA news agency, in addition to the dead suspect, another was reportedly arrested. In an interview with the ORF broadcaster, the Interior Minister said that the episode may have been a terrorist attack. A witness spoke of “50 shots” heard.
Although the government has yet to confirm the motivation for the attack, Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz called the incident a “horrible terrorist attack” in a Twitter post, adding that the army would act in some places in the capital so that the police would it could focus on counterterrorism operations.
At least one of the suspects was still being wanted by the police, according to the interior minister. He also said that children do not need to go to school on Tuesday and that security at the country’s borders is being strengthened.
– We have assembled several special forces units that are now searching for suspected terrorists. I am not limiting [a procura] to an area of Vienna because the suspects are moving, “Nehammer told the ORF broadcaster, asking the public to stay home until there is a release.
Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister told LBC radio in London that he is a resident of the synagogue complex and was at the time of the attack:
“Hearing the gunshots, we looked down from the windows and saw gunmen shooting at customers in various bars and pubs,” he said. – Gunmen ran and fired at least 100 shots or more in front of our building.
Earlier, a police spokesman said officers had been dispatched to the city center. On Twitter, the corporation said there was a shooting that left some people injured and asked people to avoid going to the region.
“Shooting in the downtown district, people are injured. KEEP AWAY from all public places or public transport,” police said.
The streets around the city center were blocked. Videos posted on social media show people running while gunshot sounds can be heard. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, “strongly condemned” the “cowardly” attack.
