Terror attack in Vienna

A terror attack has been reported in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Two people including one attacker were killed.The Chancellor of Vienna, Sebastian Kurz, described as a “repulsive terror attack”.

Police said there was “one deceased person” and several injured, including one police officer.

One suspect was “shot and killed by police officers,” Vienna police said on their Twitter account.

The attack had been carried out by “several suspects armed with rifles”, said the police.

The shooting began just hours before Austria was to re-impose a coronavirus lockdown to try to slow the spread of Covid-19. Bars and restaurants were packed as people enjoyed a final night of freedom.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told public broadcaster ORF that the incident “appeared to be a terrorist attack” and urged Viennese to remain in their homes. Residents were asked to keep away from all public places or public transport. Sirens and helicopters could be heard in the city centre as emergency services responded to the incident.

The location of the incident is close to a major synagogue.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted his support for the people of Vienna. “After France, it’s a friendly nation that has been attacked,” he added, referring to the killing on Thursday of three people by a knife-armed attacker in southern city Nice and the beheading of a schoolteacher by a suspected Islamist outside Paris several days before.

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