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Image posted, Reuters
Following a shooting, a large-scale police operation is underway in Vienna
At least one person was killed and others injured in shootings in the center of the Austrian capital Vienna, according to city police.
There is concern that the shooting incidents have resulted in the deaths of others.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz described the incident as a “heinous terrorist attack” and said that an attacker had been killed.
Police said several suspects, who were armed with rifles, launched the attack in six locations.
A large-scale security operation is underway in the capital, as police pursue the attackers.
Several people, including bystanders, were taken to hospital after their injuries, and reports indicate that some of them were seriously injured, according to the Austrian news network ORF.
There is a police officer among the injured.
What do we know about the attack?
Image posted, Reuters
Police closed several roads in central Vienna
Police said the attack began in Vienna’s largest synagogue.
Jewish community leader Oscar Deutsch said on Twitter that the synagogue was closed when the attack began at 8:00 pm local time (19:00 GMT).
The local newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported that an officer guarding the synagogue was injured.
Video clips circulating on social media show people jogging while hearing the sounds of gunfire.
Police urged people to avoid the area and not use public transportation. Authorities put up barriers around the city center.
And the Agence France-Presse news agency quoted a witness who told the station “ORRF” that the sound of the bullets: “They looked like fireworks, then we realized that they were shots.”
How did you answer?
Image posted, Reuters
Several people were taken to the hospital after their injuries.
“Our police will act decisively against the perpetrators of this heinous terrorist attack … we will not allow ourselves to fear terrorism,” Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz said on Twitter.
European leaders strongly condemned the attack, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who said Europe should not “surrender” to the attacks.
Macron said: “We, the French people, share the shock and sadness of the Austrian people tonight with an attack in the heart of their capital Vienna. After France, a friend of ours is under attack. This is our Europe. Our enemies should know who they are dealing with. “
Three people were killed in a knife attack on a church in the French city of Nice last week, in what Macron described as an “Islamic terrorist attack.”
For his part, Charles Michel described the attack in Vienna as a cowardly act that violated the values of life and humanity.
