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Two men and a woman have died in a terrorist attack in Vienna, 15 others have been injured, some seriously.
One suspect, who was armed with an assault rifle and wearing a fake suicide vest, was shot and killed by police. It is believed that at least one other attacker may still be on the run.
Austria’s Interior Minister Karl Nehammer described the suspect as an IS sympathizer and the operation to locate any other suspects was ongoing.
He added that special forces from neighboring countries were assisting in the operation.
He said the house of the suspect killed by the police was searched and video footage was seized.
“We experienced an attack last night from at least one Islamist terrorist,” he told a news conference.
He urged city residents to stay home.
The first shots were heard at 8 pm local time at the Seitenstettengasse synagogue.
The 15 people who were injured in the attack are hospitalized, several of them seriously injured.
People flee during the shootings in Vienna
Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister said he saw at least one person shoot people sitting outside the bars below his window.
Hofmeister said: “They were firing at least 100 rounds right outside our building.
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“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.”
A policeman points his gun in the air while others stand in front of a shop in the center of Vienna.
Eveline, a witness and student, said: “At first we didn’t know what it was, but suddenly people, who were sitting in other guests’ gardens, started running.
“First we stood there because we didn’t know what was going on, then they fired again, but closer, so we started running away. Since we didn’t know if we were running in the right direction, we ran into a hotel and hidden there.”
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said: “I am glad that our police were able to neutralize one of the attackers.
“We will never be intimidated by terrorism and we will combat these attacks with all means.”
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 hit by an attack tonight.”
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He wrote: “After France, this is a friendly country that has been attacked. This is our Europe … We will not give up.”
France has suffered three attacks attributed to Muslim extremists in recent weeks.
Local media in Austria previously reported that a synagogue had been attacked and shots were fired in the area of a nearby square, Schwedenplatz, while there were unconfirmed reports of coordinated attacks in the vicinity.
Oskar Deutsch, the head of the Jewish community in Vienna, said the shooting took place on the street where the city’s main synagogue is located, but that it was unclear whether the house of worship had been targeted.
Deutsch tweeted that the synagogue was closed at the time of the shootings.
Officials said the operation in the city center was ongoing and urged people to avoid open spaces and public transportation, with images posted online showing crowds fleeing.
In other videos uploaded to social media, armed officers were seen patrolling the streets and gunshots could be heard in a clip recorded from a window above a McDonald’s restaurant.
