Vienna, Austria terror attack: Gunman an IS sympathiser and three dead
The Vienna attacker shot dead by police was a sympathiser of the Islamic State group, Austria’s interior minister said on Tuesday.
“This is a radicalised person who felt close to IS,” Karl Nehammer said at a press conference
At least one attacker is still at large after a terror attack in Vienna which killed at least three people, with an assailant shot dead, an incident described as “repulsive” by Austria’s chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
“According to what we currently know there is at least one attacker who is still on the run,” Mr Nehammer told reporters.
At the same press conference the general director for public security Franz Ruf said there would be strengthened controls at Austria’s borders and police cordons in central Vienna.
Mr Nehammer told Austrian broadcaster ORF that there were “also several injured, probably also dead”.
Earlier police confirmed the attack in the Austrian capital involved multiple gunmen in six different locations.
The public has been ordered to stay indoors amid fears the attackers may try to take hostages, with an attack taking place on a cafe outside a synagogue.
Austria’s military were drafted in to help police search every building in the centre of Vienna to find the gunmen.
Police said there was “one deceased person” and several injured, including one police officer.
Meanwhile, one suspect was “shot and killed by police officers,” Vienna police said on their Twitter account.
Vienna Police spokesman Harald Sörös told ORF one of the suspects was killed by a police sniper but other suspects have fled.
Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig told local media that 15 people had been taken to hospital, of whom seven were seriously injured.
Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz has described the shootings as a “repulsive terrorist attack”.
He tweeted: “We are currently going through difficult times in our republic. I would like to thank all the emergency services who risk their lives, especially today for our safety.
“Our police will take decisive action against the perpetrators of this repulsive terrorist attack.
“I am glad that our police officers have already been able to eliminate a perpetrator. We will never allow ourselves to be intimidated by terrorism and will fight these attacks resolutely by all means.”
Kurz then delivered an address to the nation urging people to stay inside and away from transport hubs as several attackers are still at large.
Mr Kurz said people who have taken shelter in restaurants, hotels and other places are to stay put until being told it is safe to move by the police. He advised all Austrians to check the latest updates before heading out in the morning as the situation is still ongoing. Mr Kurz said there was no background information about the attackers but has not ruled out an anti-Semitic motive.
Scott Morrison said Australia stands with Austria amid the attacks.
The Prime Minister has reached out to Mr Kurz to offer his support and said Australians and Austrians will stand firm against terrorism.
US President Donald Trump denounced “yet another vile act of terrorism”.
“The US stands with Austria, France, and all of Europe in the fight against terrorists, including radical Islamic terrorists,” Trump tweeted in response to the attacks.
“These evil attacks against innocent people must stop,” he wrote.
Meanwhile the French president Emmanuel Macron, who has seen four of his citizens beheaded and stabbed in two violent attacks in recent weeks, has responded in solidarity with Austria.
He said: “We, the French, share the shock and sadness of the Austrians after an attack in Vienna. After France, it is a friendly country that is under attack. This is our Europe. Our enemies need to know who they are dealing with. We won’t give in to anything.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “I am deeply shocked by the terrible attacks in Vienna tonight. The UK’s thoughts are with the people of Austria – we stand united with you against terror.”
A local restaurant worker Anca Ghencea told the newspaper Kurier that when the gunshots rang out everyone ran. Police came and told everyone inside to “get out”. She said “we saw the police aiming their guns”.
A diner in another nearby restaurant said: “We heard the shots, and then straight away it was ‘lights off, doors closed’ and all the guests lay down on the floor.
“The fear among people is insane.” No one was injured in this restaurant, he said.
Footage on social media shows a person on the ground surrounded by blood at the door of a restaurant while two others attempt emergency first aid. Other unverified footage shows people running away and weaving to avoid being shot.
Early reports indicate that some people were being held hostage at the Akakiko restaurant in Vienna and that the city was attacked at various locations in a co-ordinated fashion.
One eye witness told Zeit im Bild that he heard a bangs and realised the sounds were gunshots. “Then I saw a person running down the Seitenstetten who shot wildly with an automatic weapon. He then turned down, at the (bar called) Roter Engel and from there in the direction of Schwedenplatz. He continued to shoot wildly there. Then the police came and fired.’’
Vienna Police tweeted several shots were fired at 8pm beginning at Seitenstettengasse and that several suspects were armed with rifles and there were six different shooting locations.
Czech police said they had started random checks on the border with Austria. “Police are carrying out random checks of vehicles and passengers on border crossings with Austria as a preventive measure in relation to the terror attack in Vienna,” Czech police tweeted.
Some Austrian reports suggest at least seven may have been killed and injured.
Mr Nehammer told Austrian broadcaster ORF: “At the moment I can confirm we believe this is an apparent terror attack”.
Oskar Deutsch, the head of the Jewish community in Vienna, said the shooting took place in Seitenstettengasse, the street where the synagogue is located, but that he was uncertain if it was the original target as it was closed at the time of the attack.
He added office buildings at the same address had been closed as well.
Police tweeted: “Stay in the houses. Shots on Schwedenplatz”.
“It sounded like firecrackers, then we realised it was shots,” said one eyewitness quoted by public broadcaster ORF.
theaustralian.com.au
