2 dead, 15 wounded in Vienna terror attack, authorities say

Gunmen opened fire on people enjoying a last night in Vienna before a coronavirus lockdown today (NZT) in a terrorist attack that left at least two dead, including one of the attackers, and 15 injured, authorities said.

“I am glad that our police were able to neutralize one of the attackers,” Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said. “We will never be intimidated by terrorism and we will combat these attacks with all means.”

Police said several shots were fired shortly after 8 p.m. on a busy street in the city center and that there were six filming locations.

Austria’s top security official said authorities believe multiple gunmen were involved and a police operation was still underway hours later.

“It appears to have been a terrorist attack,” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told the public broadcaster ORF, adding that the assailants were armed with rifles. He said the army had been asked to monitor key locations in the city to allow police officers to pursue the attackers.

Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig said 15 people were hospitalized, seven seriously injured.

Oskar Deutsch, the head of the Jewish community in Vienna, said the shooting took place on the street in front of the city’s main synagogue, but that it was unclear whether the house of worship had been targeted. The synagogue was closed at the time, Deutsch tweeted.

Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister said he saw at least one person shoot people sitting outside in street bars below his window.

“They were firing at least 100 rounds right outside our building,” Hofmeister said.

“All these bars have tables outside. Tonight is the last night before closing,” he added. “Starting at midnight, all bars and restaurants will be closed in Austria for the next month, and a lot of people will probably want to use that night to be able to go out.”

Kurz said these were “difficult hours for our republic” and promised: “Our police will act decisively against those responsible for this despicable terrorist attack.”

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that the French “share the shock and pain of the Austrian people affected by an attack tonight.”

“After France, this is a friendly country that has been attacked. This is our Europe … We will not give up,” he wrote.

France has suffered three attacks attributed to Muslim extremists in recent weeks: one by a Pakistani refugee who injured two people in front of the former headquarters of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo; the beheading of a schoolmaster who showed students caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad; and a deadly knife attack Thursday at a church in the Mediterranean city of Nice. France has entered a maximum security alert.

The Vienna authorities urged people to avoid all open spaces and public transportation. Police said the trams and buses were not stopping and urged social media users not to post videos of the police operation so as not to endanger the officers.

– AP