Vienna is on alert

It all started at 8pm on Monday night, when an armed group carried out a terrorist attack in the center of Vienna.

What we know:

• Four people lost their lives. Three citizens (two men and one woman) and one of the perpetrators.
• At least one of the gunmen is still missing, according to Austrian Interior Minister Carl Nehammer.
• The perpetrator “is a person who has become radicalized,” the minister said, using the term “Islamist terrorist.”
• Fifteen people were injured and taken to hospital after the attack. One of the injured is a policeman. Seven of the injured are in critical condition, Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig said.

• The attacks began with gunfire.
• The dead perpetrator was shot outside St. Rupert Church.
• The attacks, perpetrated by an unknown number of perpetrators, took place in six locations, near the Seitenstettengasse, in the heart of the Austrian capital.
• Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz described the attacks as “terrorist”. He added that they were “professionally” designed. Kurtz ordered the army to take to the streets of Vienna.
• The Chancellor of Austria will preside over an extraordinary meeting of his cabinet this morning and then address the people.
• Police and security officers have asked people not to share videos or photos on social media.
• The police told residents to stay away from central Vienna.
• The attack took place last night before a new blockade took effect in the city.
• Schools will be closed today.
• The EU and other world leaders have expressed their solidarity with the Austrian people.

The Austrian authorities announced early on that they were treating the incident as a terrorist. Austrian police are investigating, analyzing data and obtaining evidence of the bloody incident.