Vienna shooting: Austria launches manhunt after deadly ‘terror’ attack
Vienna shooting
Vienna shooting – Austrian police are still searching for at least one suspect after a multiple gun attack in the capital, Vienna, that left three people dead.
About 14 other people have been wounded – some seriously – after several gunmen opened fire at six different locations in the city centre on Monday evening.
One suspect was shot dead by police, officials said.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer described the assailant killed by police as an “Islamist terrorist”.
Addressing a news conference, he said the attacker had been wearing an explosive belt and was an Islamic State (IS) sympathiser. He said the suspect’s home had been searched and video material seized.
Earlier, Mr Nehammer said at least one “heavily armed and dangerous” attacker was believed to be still at large. He urged people to avoid central Vienna and told parents not to take their children to school on Tuesday.
The shootings broke out near Vienna’s central synagogue but it is not yet clear if that was the target. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called it a “repulsive terror attack”.
The attack happened just hours before Austria imposed new national restrictions to try to stem rising cases of coronavirus. Many people were out enjoying bars and restaurants before they closed at midnight.
European leaders strongly condemned the shooting. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “deeply shocked by the terrible attacks”.
What do we know about the attack?
Police said the incident began at about 20:00 (19:00 GMT), near the Seitenstettengasse synagogue, when a heavily armed man opened fire on people outside cafes and restaurants.
Members of the special forces quickly arrived at the scene. One policeman suffered a gunshot wound before other officers shot the perpetrator, who was armed with an automatic rifle, a pistol and a machete.
Jewish community leader Oskar Deutsch tweeted that the synagogue was closed at the time the attack began. An officer guarding the building was among the wounded, newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported.
It was not immediately clear how many attackers took part in the shooting. The city’s police chief said two men and a woman were killed.
Footage posted on social media showed scenes of chaos as people ran through the streets with gunshots ringing out in the background.
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Earlier reports suggested one suspect had been arrested, but the interior minister has not confirmed it.
Witness Chris Zhao was in a nearby restaurant when the shooting started.
He told the BBC: “We heard noises that sounded like firecrackers. We heard about 20 to 30 and we thought that to be actually gunfire. We saw the ambulances… lining up. There were victims. Sadly, we also saw a body lying down the street next to us.”
