One of the killer gunmen was a sympathizer of ISIS, an official says.
A terrorist attack in central Vienna on Monday night killed at least four people, including a police officer, and wounded several others, government officials said.
Police killed a gunman. Austria’s interior minister, Carl Nehmer, called the gunman an Islamic State “sympathizer” at a news conference on Tuesday morning. He did not disclose the man’s name, but said police searched his apartment.
Police were searching for about a dozen comrades on Tuesday morning, with about 1,000 officers doing Facebook in Vienna. The search was centered in central Vienna and officials urged people to avoid the area.
But they also appeared to increase the likelihood that the killer gunman acted alone, although officials had previously said there were several assailants. Mr Nehammer said the gunman killed by police wore a belt that looked like an explosive device, but later proved to be a forgery.
At least 14 people were injured, six of them seriously, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Harold Soros.
“It’s definitely a terrorist attack,” said Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
Vienna police initially said the attack began around 8pm, involving “several suspects armed with rifles.”
The shooting is in the middle of the Strian capital, just hours before the start of a midnight nationwide lockdown, one of the few imposed in Europe to stop the spread of coronavirus.
“We are still the victims of a heinous terrorist attack,” Chancellor Kurz said in a televised address to the nation before midnight.
As night fell, more shootings took place elsewhere in Vienna’s first district. Police officers described the chaotic situation with several “exchange of shots”. Emergency vehicles were blocked on the streets and a streetcar line in the area was closed.
The chancellor said he had called in troops to ensure the security of Austria’s official buildings, freeing police to “fully focus on the fight against terrorism”.
With immediate danger passing, the city remained on edge.
Hours after the attack began, tensions eased after police officers began evacuating people trapped in bars and restaurants through security corridors. The opera house and a theater were also evacuated.
But police maintained a heavy presence in the city center rather than searching for suspects. More than 150 special police officers and 100 regular duty officers were on duty, and an emergency team from the Interior Ministry was monitoring the response.
Mayor Michael Ludwig said, “There is a lot to monitor. “A lot of people are still in the inner city and we’re going to see a lot of them get out of there.”
Officials urged people to stay home and avoid the city center. They also said the children would be allowed to go home from school on Tuesday.
With the target unclear, officials dismissed the speculation.
The area where the shots were first reported is the tight web of streets full of bars and pubs, locally known as the “Bermuda Triangle”. It is also home to the main temple of Vienna, the Citantestangasi Synagogue – but it was not clear what the attackers intended and targeted.
Said Oscar Deutsch, president of the Jewish religious community in Austria On Twitter The initial shooting took place “in the immediate vicinity” of the temple, but was closed at the time.
“It’s not clear right now whether the main temple was the target,” he said.
Police took to Twitter to request restraint.
“Please do not share any rumors, allegations, speculations or unconfirmed numbers of victims.” “It doesn’t help! Stay inside, take shelter, stay away from public places. “
Light evening out, and then shoot.
The attackers struck as riastrians gathered outside to enjoy the final night of fun before imposing strict new measures to curb the epidemic in the country.
“You can feel that a lot of people want to get more time before the downdown begins,” said Amelie Pitts, 23, who was in the area an hour before the attack. “It was a light evening and a lot of people were out.”
In an instant it all changed.
“I’m currently one of the restaurants right next to where the attack took place,” said 24-year-old student Julia Schramel. “I’m here with my cousins because we wanted to have a great night together before the lockdown.”
Earlier, she said the intensity of what was happening was not clear.
“We just saw a few people running, no clue what was going on, then heard the shooting and a few people screamed.”
The restaurant was eventually locked. Elsewhere, there have been reports of patrons rushing to the kitchen to hide in other restaurants.
The city stopped all trams and subways in central Vienna and reiterated police requests for people to be sheltered in place. It included many people who were in rest restaurants, rents and cafes.
“The situation here is very tense,” she said. Said Mr. Memel. “It is safe to live here. There are tons of police and ambulances around us.
The sound of sirens and helicopters filled the night air as ri striians struggled to absorb what had happened.
“We are shocked,” said Farnaz Alavi, a 34-year-old human resources consultant in Vienna. They seem to have planned this attack last night “when they had a lot of people out for maximum effect” before the Litdown. “
Witnesses posted dramatic videos of the attack.
Some people posted dramatic videos after the shooting and its aftermath.
In one video, people helped an injured man fall to the ground in a pool of blood, just outside a restaurant on Ruprechaplepts and less than a mile from the Austrian Parliament building. Some of the chairs in the restaurant’s outdoor area were overturned, as if left in a hurry.
Another video showed a man in civilian clothes coming out of a bar or rest restaurant rent, then firing a rifle into the street twice.
Yet another video showed the same gunman in the same alley, shooting a man with a long gun at close range, then returning a few moments later to shoot him twice with a handgun.
In other videos people echoed through the streets, and heavily armed police officers ran to cover behind obstacles as they took up positions.
On Twitter, Vienna police pleaded with witnesses Videos not posted And pictures on social media, but instead send to officials.
World leaders are sympathetic and supportive.
World leaders, government officials and politicians condemned the Vienna attack, expressing condolences to the victims and their families.
French President, Emmanuel Macron, Posted a message of support in German on Twitter, In which he mentioned the recent terrorist attacks in his country.
“We, the French people, share the shock and grief of the people of Riyadh after the attack in Vienna,” Mr Macron wrote. “It is the second friendly country to be attacked after France. This is our Europe. Our enemies need to know who they are dealing with. We will not give. ”
“Horrible and disturbing news arrives this evening from the German government,” read a statement from the German government, quoted by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman Stefan Seibert. “Even if the scale of the terror is not yet clear: our thoughts are with the wounded and the victims in this difficult hour. We must not give way to hatred which is to divide our society. ”
On the eve of the United States election, President Trump also tweeted his condolences over fears of possible unrest in the country:
“Our prayers are with the people of Vienna after another heinous act of terrorism in Europe. These evil attacks on innocent people are about to stop. In the fight against terrorists, including radical Islamic militants, the U.S. Aust is with Austria, France and the whole of Europe.
Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, Robert C. O’Brien, said in a statement that the country is praying for the people of Vienna. “We stand with Austria, France and the whole of Europe in the fight against terrorism,” Mr O’Brien said.
Mr. Trump’s Democratic opponent, Joseph R. Biden Jr. said he and his wife, Jill, “kept the victims and their families in our prayers.” He added, “We must all unite against hatred and violence.”
In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the attack.Horrible and heartbreaking“And condemned it” in as strong a word as possible. “
A city that sometimes finds itself in cross hair.
Austria – and Vienna in particular – has been the target of terrorist attacks for many years, often with fatal consequences.
Religious and political tensions, sometimes with no clear connection to Austria, have led to sporadic violence that has resulted in the deaths and injuries of both civilians and political figures there.
In 1975, the city was attacked by six men with submachine guns at a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. They killed three people and took at least 60 hostages.
One group claiming responsibility called the attack “political rivalry and information” aimed at “the alliance between American imperialism and the military reactionary forces of the Arab homeland.”
In 1981, Heinz Knittel, leader of the Rian Strian Socialist Party and head of the Ria Strian-Israel Friendship Society, was assassinated outside his home by an attacker affiliated with the terrorist Palestinian group.
The synagogue in Vienna has also been attacked. Two people were killed in 1981 when terrorists attacked a temple with grenades and firearms. The attack came weeks after two small bombs exploded outside the Israeli embassy.
After Christmas in 1985, panic spread at Vienna Airport when three gunmen stormed a check-in lounge and opened fire with submachine guns, killing three people and injuring dozens. Witnesses at the time said the attack took place when an Al Israel Airlines flight was boarding. The attack was reportedly coordinated with another al-Qaeda check-in 10 minutes ago in Rome.
From 1993 to 1997, a series of mail bombs and other explosive devices that wounded the mayor of Vienna clung to the growing threat of neo-Nazi terrorism in the country. The man convicted of the attack said his goal was to reconnect with German-speaking areas.
Melissa Eddy from Berlin, Christopher F. Report by Schutz and Katherine Benold. Christoph Coettle, Fernandez Fasihi and Emmet Lindner report from New York. Livia Albeck-Ripka contributed to the report from Darwin, Australia, Australia and Hong Kong.
