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Image source, AFP
Austrian police are on the hunt for at least one suspect after gun attacks in the capital Vienna left four dead.
Another 17 people were injured, including some seriously, after gunmen fired at six different locations in the city center on Monday night.
One attacker was shot and killed by police, authorities said.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer described the man as “a radical Muslim terrorist.”
The dead were two women and two men.
A woman is a waitress. A second person died in the hospital overnight due to serious injuries, according to the news.
The victims were then in a busy area where there were many bars and restaurants near the synagogue in the center of Vienna.
However, it is currently unclear if that was the target of the attack.
Image source, EPA
The pirated bars in the Vienna area are known as the “Bermuda Triangle”.
Mr. Nehammer advised everyone to avoid going downtown. The police blocked some streets and increased their presence in the area. Parents are asked to keep their children home on Tuesday, if possible.
Seven of the victims among the injured were in critical and life-threatening condition, Austrian media reported.
Speaking at the press conference, Mr. Nehammer described the gunman equipped with the full range of weapons that the police had defeated as a supporter of the Islamic State (IS) organization.
The man’s home was ransacked and authorities obtained video materials, the minister said. The man wore a fake explosive tape on his body, police wrote on Twitter.
Previously, Nehammer said that at least one “highly armed and dangerous” attacker was believed to be still in hiding.
Officials were said likely had up to four attackers.
Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz called this a “disgusting terrorist attack.” The government said it was “an attack on freedom and democracy.”
The incident came just hours before Austria imposed a new nationwide restriction to contain the rise in corona virus infection.
Many people were eating and drinking before the midnight curfew took effect.
The government has declared three days of national mourning, beginning immediately, with a raised flag and a minute of silence in the middle of the day. Schools also set aside a minute to commemorate the victims on Wednesday morning.
European leaders strongly condemned the shooting.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “extremely shocked by these horrible attacks.”
Events of the event
The shooting in Vienna followed the attacks by Islamist extremists in France.
Police said the incident occurred around 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT) at a site near the Seitenstettengasse synagogue. A fully armed man fires bullets at people sitting in outdoor cafes and restaurants.
The task force quickly arrived at the scene. A police officer was shot and seriously injured before the assailant, who was carrying an automatic rifle, a pistol and a machete, was “disabled” at 20:09.
Image source, fake images
The suspect was identified as a 20-year-old native of North Macedonia, who has been convicted of terrorism-related charges, Nehammer told the Austrian news agency APA.
This person has dual citizenship, Austria and North Macedonia.
Police said six shooting points were all in the center of Vienna, including Seitenstette, Morzinplatz, Salzgries, Fleischmarkt, Bauernmarkt and Graben.
The suspect was shot and killed near St Rupert’s Church.
The leader of the Jewish community, Oskar Deutsch, said the synagogue was closed at the time of the attack.
Image source, fake images
A major campaign against terrorism has been launched. The police are blocking the streets of the center. Residents are told not to go to the area and not to use public transportation.
Police in the neighboring Czech Republic say they are conducting random checks on the Austrian border to prevent gunmen from escaping in that direction.
