At least one person has been killed and 15 injured in a suspected “terror attack” involving multiple gunmen in central Vienna, according to Austrian police.
One of the suspected attackers was also shot dead, police said.
Austria’s Interior Minister Karl Nehammer has described the incident as a “terror attack,” and urged members of the public to stay indoors, as police try to find the attackers.
“We are still in battle against the would-be terrorists,” Nehammer said on Austrian broadcaster ORF on Monday night, adding that several suspects are armed with assault rifles. “We assume there are several heavily armed perpetrators.”
Gunfire erupted in the Austrian capital at six locations in the center of the city at around 8 p.m. local time Monday, hours before the start of a nationwide lockdown to combat a resurgence of Covid-19, according to police.
Vienna’s mayor Michael Ludwig said the attackers started randomly shooting at people in a busy district packed with cafes and restaurants near Vienna’s main synagogue, Seitenstettengasse Temple.
“We are trying to find out more about the perpetrators and keep the population safe,” he told ORF.