A policeman stands guard close to a crime scene in Vienna on November 3. Photo: JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images
Two men and two women have died following gun attacks in the centre of Vienna on Monday night, in what is being treated as a terror-related incident.One suspect armed with an assault rifle and wearing a fake suicide belt was shot and killed by police last night. He has been identified as a 20-year-old dual national from Austria and North Macedonia, with a prior conviction for terrorist association.Twenty-two people were wounded in Monday night’s attacks, with gunfire reported at six separate locations, including a police officer shot in the line of duty.Police in Vienna had said they were searching for at least one accomplice, but on Tuesday afternoon they said it was “unclear whether a second gunman is at large, however, it is possible that the gunman acted as a single perpetrator.”So far 14 people have been arrested as part of the police investigation, with 18 houses searched.
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Austria’s interior minister Karl Nehammer earlier described the attacker as an “Islamist terrorist,” while Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz condemned the “hideous terrorist attack.”Police had launched a major operation in response to the shootings, cordoning off a large area surrounding the scene of the attack, and instructing people in the old town of Vienna to shelter inside and avoid public transport. “Stay inside, take shelter, keep away from public places.”Police said the attacks began at about 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) when shots were fired in the Seitenstettengasse area.
Jewish community leader Oskar Deutsch said that the shooting took place near to a synagogue, but that because it was closed at the time of the incident, it was unclear whether it had been targeted.World leaders have condemned the attack and expressed their sympathies with Austria.French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country is reeling from a spate of recent Islamist terror attacks, expressed sympathy on Twitter. “We French share the shock and grief of the Austrian people struck this evening by an attack in the heart of their capital, Vienna,” he wrote. “This is our Europe. Our enemies must know who they are dealing with. We will not give up.”