Terror attack in Vienna leaves four dead

 Our live coverage has ended for now. Read our full report on the Vienna attack here.

ISIS claimed it was behind the attack in central Vienna on Monday that killed at least four people and wounded 22 others.

On Tuesday, the terror group released a statement along with a picture that, according to the group, showed the attacker. The group claimed the attacker used two guns, including one machine gun, and a knife. 

The group identified the man as Abu Dujana Al-Albany in their statement, which was posted to Telegram.

The aftermath of the attack is seen at a bar in Vienna on Tuesday.

What happened:

The victims:

The gunman:

Other suspects:

Condolences from around the world:

British Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced the UK’s terror threat level has been raised from “substantial” to “severe” on Tuesday.

“The public should continue to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police,” Patel said on Twitter.

A UK government official told CNN the decision to raise the alert level was “precautionary” and related to the attack in Vienna and the earlier attacks in France. “There are always lots of threats but this is precautionary,” the official added.

Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister speaks to the media near the scene of the attack in Vienna, on Tuesday, November 3.

Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister watched in horror as a gunman weaved in and out of bars and pubs in central Vienna, shooting at people enjoying a last night of fun before Austria’s nationwide coronavirus curfew came into effect.

“He was working like a professional, trained attacker,” Hofmeister told CNN. “He looked professional, he didn’t look confused and he wasn’t shooting around randomly – it was very targeted and coordinated, like a fighter.”

Hofmeister witnessed the attack Monday evening at the busy Bermuda Triangle entertainment quarter, watching from his home near the Seitenstettengasse Temple, the synagogue where he gives religious instruction.

Hofmeister called the police and told them that a gunman was running towards people at a bar, shooting “dozens, maybe hundreds, of rounds.”

Read the whole story here.

Heavily armed police stand outside the Vienna State Opera after shots were fired in the city center on Monday night.

When the security of the world-famous Vienna State Opera told its staff that shots had been fired in the city center and that people were not allowed to leave the building, the performance of Pagliacci’s Cavalleria Rusticana kept going.

“We decided not to stop the performance … it was our last performance before the corona-lockdown,” a spokeswoman for the opera house told CNN via email. 

The director went on stage and told the audience what had happened and that security forces would not allow people to leave the opera. 

“The audience was very calm, nobody panicked,” the spokeswoman said, adding that “after about an hour, a few musicians played the string quartet to entertain the audience that was still in the hall.” 

“The quartet was not arranged. They played it very spontaneously, there were not many people in the hall. They played a quartet by Joseph Haydn, one of the greatest composers of our country.”

Barbara Lovett was among those who witnessed the moment and posted a video on Twitter. “Police kept us safe inside the Vienna State Opera after tonight’s performance. While we waited, members of the Vienna Philharmonic started to play. No attack will ever stop the music in Vienna,” she tweeted.

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, speaks with Wolfgang Wagner, Deputy Head of Mission at the Austrian embassy, before signing a condolence book for victims of the Vienna attack, in Paris, on Tuesday.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told CNN he has been in contact with the French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday to discuss whether there could be links between the attack in Vienna on Monday and the recent terror attacks in France.

“The ideology behind it is always the same,” Kurz told CNN. “It’s the idea of radicalizing youth, of radicalizing the second generation of people who live in our societies to fight our societies,” Kurz said.

France has seen two separate attacks in the past two weeks. A teacher, Samuel Paty, was murdered on October 16 in the northern Paris suburb of Éragny after showing cartoons published in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo depicting the Prophet Mohammed to students in his class. Last week, three people were stabbed to death at a church in the French city of Nice.

Kurz said the European Union must be united in the fight against terrorism. “Because even if there are no links between this terrorist attack and the terrorist attacks in Germany and France, we know that the goal behind is always the same. These are people who are against our democracy, who are against our way of living and who are against our values,” he said.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz places a candle as he pays his respects to the victims of the shooting in Vienna, on November 3.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told CNN the situation in Vienna was “more or less under control” after the attacker was shot dead by police.

In an interview in Vienna with CNN’s Fred Pleitgen on Tuesday afternoon, Kurz said the gunman likely acted alone.

“We know there was at least one gunman, probably he was alone, but he was able to kill four people and he wounded 14 people … we are very happy that the police was able to take him down, and so I would say is the situation is more or less under control,” he said.

Kurz added that the authorities are now trying to establish whether there are people who supported the attacker. “We are trying to find out if the attacker was part of a broader network.”

He added that the authorities know the gunman was “a supporter of the Islamic State.”

“It is crystal clear this terrorist attack was Islamist terrorist attack. The gunman was born in Austria, he has a migration background from northern Macedonia and what we know is that he is a supporter of the Islamic state,” he said.

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Flowers and candles are left for the victims of the attack at Schwedenplatz in Vienna, on Tuesday.

A German woman was identified as one of the people killed in the attack in Vienna on Monday, Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said on his Twitter.

Four people were killed in the attack – two men and two women. The victims have not been named.

Earlier on Tuesday, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer identified them as “an elderly man, an elderly woman, a young passerby and a waitress.”

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio holds a press conference on September 21 in Rome.

The Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio has proposed an EU-wide US-style Patriot Act after the Vienna and Nice attacks, he said Tuesday on his official Facebook account.

According to Di Maio it is time to take “measures that can prevent tragedies such as those in Nice and Vienna.”

He said:

Di Maio added that both Italy and the EU “must raise their security levels.”

Austrian investigators will want to establish what motivated Fejzulai Kujtim to launch his attack.

Monday’s assault came amid renewed controversy in Europe over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. In 2015, terrorists attacked the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo (which had published the cartoons), killing 12 people. 

A French history teacher was murdered last month by a young Chechen in Paris after showing images of the cartoons to a class. France’s President Emmanuel Macron launched an unsparing defense of French secularism and said “the problem is Islamist separatism.”

Whether Kujtim was angered by the cartoons is at this stage unclear. He had clearly been radicalized several years ago, according to authorities. And the history of that radicalization will now be a focus of investigation.

Like many European countries, Austria experienced a surge in young radicalized Muslims trying to join ISIS in Syria between 2014 and 2017, before the terrorists’ self-declared Caliphate collapsed. Kujtim is reported to have reached as far as Turkey in his effort to join ISIS. 

According to Austria’s intelligence service, the BVT, more than 300 Austrian citizens actively participated or attempted to take part in fighting alongside extremists in Iraq and Syria. 59 were detained before they could leave Austria. 

Perhaps more strikingly, one-fifth of those who were jailed for trying to join ISIS were 21 or younger, predominantly second-generation immigrants from Chechnya, Turkey, and the Balkans. 

Police in Vienna guard near Schwedenplatz on November 3.

Austrian authorities have reviewed roughly half of the 20,000 witness videos that have been submitted to the police by the public and have, so far, found no evidence of there being more than one attacker involved in the shooting. However, they stressed that the investigation continues.

The police originally said there might have been more than one people involved in the attack on Monday. A police spokesperson told CNN this was based on witness testimonies and emergency calls.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Austria’s Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said the police officer who was injured in the attack on Monday has undergone a successful surgery and was in stable condition in a hospital.

“It is important to say, in this horrible situation, that the police officer was brought to safety by two Austrian citizens with migrant background,” Nehammer said.

Austrian authorities have identified the perpetrator in Monday night’s attack as an Austrian-born 20-year-old named Fejzulai Kujtim, according to state news agency APA. 

Kujtim was from the Vienna suburb of Moedling.

Austria’s Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said at a Tuesday news conference that the attacker had served time in prison after being convicted of trying to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS as a teenager.

He was sentenced in April 2019 to 22 months in jail, but freed eight months later on December 5, as he was considered a young adult and therefore eligible for conditional release. 

Speaking at the news conference, Nehammer said there will be further questions about the deradicalization program the attacker went through.

Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated what part of Austria Fejzulai Kujtim was from. He was from Moedling, a suburb of Vienna.

Police officers stay in position during an operation in Vienna on November 3.

Vienna Police President Gerhard Puerstl said 18 homes have been searched in connection with the attack in the Austrian capital on Monday night, and that 14 people have been taken into custody.

In a joint news conference with Puerstl on Tuesday, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said the attacker was heavily armed – he was carrying a Kalashnikov assault weapon, another gun and a machete. Nehammer said there was no doubt that the attacker was an ISIS supporter.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer is giving an update to the media on last night’s attack in Vienna.

He started by saying that the number of victim is higher than previously thought: four people have been killed and 22 are injured.

Nehammer also gave more information on the attacker, who was shot and killed by the police. The minister said the shooter was neutralized within nine minutes of the attack.

He was a 20-year-old dual citizen of Austria and North Macedonia. Nehammer said the attacker had a previous criminal record and had “attempted affiliation” with the Islamic State.

Pope Francis leads a general weekly audience in Vatican City on September 23.

Pope Francis has joined the foreign dignitaries renouncing the attack in Vienna. The head of the Catholic Church said he was praying for the victims and their families.

“Enough violence! Let us together strengthen peace and fraternity. Only love can silence hate,” he said in a tweet.

The deadly attack in Vienna on Monday unfolded in six locations across central Vienna, according to an Austrian law enforcement source speaking to journalists on Tuesday.

Werner Beninger was having a dinner with his wife at a restaurant in central Vienna when the attack unfolded nearby last night.

“All of a sudden shots rang out from one direction and I thought at first that they were fireworks,” he told CNN.

Beninger said he heard “many” shots. “It must have been continuous fire,” he added.

He said people fled into the garden of the restaurant, when special police unit – known as WEGA – arrived and told everyone to hide in the basement.

“There were roughly 50 people and we waited it out in the basement. We stayed there until 1:00 or 1:30 in the morning,” Beninger said.

New coronavirus restrictions went into effect in Austria overnight, just hours after the deadly attack in Vienna.

A curfew is now in place between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Restaurants and cafes are only allowed to operate take-out and delivery services. Gyms are closed and cultural events are cancelled. Shops can remain open, but have to limit the number of people inside to make social distancing possible.

A police officer in Vienna stands near broken glass on November 3.

Authorities have released more information about Monday’s deadly terror attack in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

Here’s what we know:

Police guard stand near Schwedenplatz square following a shooting in the center of Vienna on November 3, 2020 one day after at least three people were killed in multiple shootings. - A huge manhunt was under way on November 3 after gunmen opened fire at multiple locations across central Vienna, killing at least three people and wounding several more. (Photo by HANS PUNZ / APA / AFP) / Austria OUT (Photo by HANS PUNZ/APA/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Four people 'killed in cold blood' in Vienna during night of terror

Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen speaks in Vienna on November 3.

The deadly attack in Vienna on Monday struck “in the heart” of the Austrian society, Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen said in a televised address on Tuesday.

In the Austrian political system, the president plays mostly a ceremonial role. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is the head of the government.

Austrian authorities cannot yet rule out the possibility of a second suspect still being on the run after carrying out a terror attack in Vienna on Monday night. 

One attacker was shot by the police on Monday, but Vienna police spokesperson Christopher Verhnjak told CNN police were told by witnesses during emergency calls last night there could be more than one attacker. 

Police are investigating and advising people to stay home until they are sure there isn’t a suspect in hiding, Verhnjak said.

The number of people killed in Monday night’s attack has risen to four, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said during a televised speech Tuesday morning.

Addressing the nation, Kurz said four civilians – an elderly man, an elderly woman, a young passerby and a waitress have been “killed in cold blood.”

He added that 14 other people were injured, some of them seriously. He said a police officer was among the injured. One of the attackers was killed by police on Monday evening.

Kurz said Monday’s shooting was “an attack on our free society” and said Austria would “defend its values.”

The chancellor announced a nationwide minute of silence in memory of the victims at 12 p.m. Vienna time on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a telegram to Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz expressing his condolences following the attack.

A statement on the Kremlin website said:

In the statement, Putin also “reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to build up cooperation with Austria and other members of the international community in the fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism.”

Compulsory school attendance has been suspended in Vienna on Tuesday and parents have been told by the Interior Ministry to keep their kids at home if possible.

Schools in the Austrian capital will remain open for those who need childcare.

The ministry has advised Vienna residents to stay at home and avoid the city center as investigation continues. The authorities said “it can’t be excluded that there were more attackers” and added they believed one suspect to still be on the run.

Police patrol near Schwedenplatz square in the center of Vienna on November 3, one day after three people were killed.

Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister tells CNN that he saw a gunman running into bars shooting at people during Monday’s attack.

“He was running towards them with a rifle,” he said. Hofmeister said he saw the shooting unfold from his home, which was close where the attack occurred.

“He was running back and forth and ran inside the bars, and I heard shots being fired inside the bars,” Hofmeister said. “And then within the next 15 or 20 minutes I heard shots from farther away.”

It was a warm evening and many people were outside enjoying the last hours of freedom before a coronavirus lockdown was imposed that night.

Hofmeister said it looked like a “professional, trained attack.”

“He didn’t look confused and he wasn’t shooting around randomly – it was very targeted and coordinated, like a fighter,” he said.

Hofmeister said that he personally saw just one attacker.” But I also saw videos of one of the attackers and I can’t say whether this is the same person,” he said.

The attack was centered on the busy shopping and dining district near Vienna’s main synagogue, Seitenstettengasse Temple, which was closed at the time. It is unclear whether the synagogue was a target.

Hofmeister said that while they can’t rule out that the synagogue may have been a target, at that time of day “there is no activity in the synagogue. The building was closed and secured with alarms.”

“We are here in a popular nightlife district – the nightlife district of the city,” he said. “The people who are in this area were people who go out in this district, patrons of the bars and pubs.”

The Austrian Embassy in New Delhi will be closed to the public until November 11 following the attack in Vienna, the embassy said in a statement.

“As a precautionary measure the Austrian Embassy New Delhi will remain closed to the public until 11th November 2020. We ask for your understanding,” the embassy said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his condolences following the attack, saying he was “deeply shocked and saddened by the dastardly terror attacks.”

A CNN team has arrived in Vienna by car and say that while there is little security presence on the outskirts of the city, it’s a different story in the town center.

“Arriving in Vienna. No check points on the outskirts of town. Not much in the way of massive police presence,” said CNN Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen. “If these guys are still looking for someone they’re not showing it.”

In the city center, or the Innen Stadt, there is a bigger police presence, however. “Police vehicles on all major streets. Police with automatic weapons drawn. Cops in combat gear but seem pretty relaxed,” Pleitgen said.

An armed policeman stands guard outside the Interior Ministry in Vienna, Austria on November 2.

Monday’s shooting in Vienna occurred in a busy area packed with cafes and restaurants.

Jimmy Eroglu, 42, was waitering in his cafe when people suddenly started running inside.

“My guests were outside and suddenly started storming inside, so I also went to look and asked what’s going on and they said there’s a shooting,” he said.

Eroglu said he stuck his head out of the door to see what was going on and heard “at least 15 shots.”

“I still can’t believe this,” he said. “We were all fearing for our lives.”

Eroglu locked the doors to the cafe and told everyone to stay inside. No more than three minutes later police were at the scene, he said.

“This is something we only see in America, or in Iraq or Afghanistan, but not here in Austria,” Eroglu said.

The head of the Austrian Federal Police Franz Ruf speaks during a press conference on November 2.

Frank Ruf, general director for public safety with the Vienna police, said they are reviewing thousands of videos sent in by members of the public.

“More than 20,000 videos were sent to the police platform. Thank you to the people in Austria who gave us this evidence,” Ruf said.

He added that a 35-member investigation team had so far examined 20% of the videos.

Austria's Interior minister Karl Nehammer speaks during a press conference in Vienna, on November 2.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said the Vienna shooting was “an attack on our values and a completely useless attempt to weaken our democratic society or to divide it.”

“We experienced an attack yesterday from at least one Islamist terrorist – a situation like we have not had to experience in Austria in decades,” he said.

Armed police stand guard outside the Interior Ministry in Vienna following the shooting on November 2.

Austrian police have said that they “assume that there were more attackers” in Vienna’s terrorist attack on Monday. 

During a press conference this morning, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said that one suspect had been shot dead by police but that “it can’t be excluded that there were more attackers.”

At least three people have died and 15 others were injured in Monday’s shooting. One police officer was also injured in the attack. 

Vienna Police have released more information into the attack in the city center on Monday.

Here’s what we know:

Police stand guard stand near Schwedenplatz square following a shooting in the center of Vienna on November 2.

Austria’s Interior Minister said that the gunman who was shot dead in Monday’s terror attack in Vienna was radicalized.

“The radicalized person is someone who is an IS sympathizer,” said Interior minister Karl Nehammer, referring to the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

During a press conference early this morning, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer added that police had used explosives to enter the attacker’s residence and were investigating its surroundings. 

Austria's Interior minister Karl Nehammer speaks during a press conference on November 2, in Vienna.

At least three people have died and 15 injured in a terror attack in Vienna, Austria’s Interior Minister Karl Nehammer announced in a press conference early on Tuesday.

Earlier, police had said at least person had been killed.

In addition to the three civilians, one of the gunmen was shot dead by police.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer is set to give a press conference at 6 a.m. local time (12 a.m.ET).

Police in Vienna remain on high alert and are hunting at least one suspect after multiple gunmen with automatic weapons opened fire in the heart of the Austrian capital Monday evening.

Read more for a full report on the shootings:

Armed police patrol at a passage near the opera in central Vienna on November 2, 2020, following a shooting near a synagogue. - Multiple gunshots were fired in central Vienna on Monday evening, according to police, with the location of the incident close to a major synagogue. Police urged residents to keep away from all public places or public transport. One attacker was "dead" and another "on the run", with one police officer being seriously injured, Austria's interior ministry said according to news agency APA. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo by JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Police launch major operation in Vienna after shots fired

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia “stands firm with out Austrian friends” following the shootings in Vienna.

“Deeply shocked by the awful terror attacks in Austria. The situation remains fluid and details of the attack are still not clear,” he said in a Tweet.

“We pray for, and stand firm with, our Austrian friends against acts of violence, terror and intimidation, and all they seek to undermine.”

It is now 4 a.m. in the Austrian capital Vienna and a manhunt remains underway to find at least one assailant suspected to be involved in Monday’s shootings.

Gunfire erupted in the city center at around 8 p.m. local time on Monday, just before the start of a nationwide lockdown to combat a resurgence of Covid-19, according to police. Gunmen with automatic weapons began shooting at six locations, killing at least one person and injuring 15.

“It is of course a very tense security situation, especially in the federal capital Vienna,” Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said. Austrian officials have described the incident as a terror attack.

Vienna Police are using “all forces available” and said their investigations into the attack “will go on highest level.”

Chancellor Kurz said the armed forces have been deployed in Vienna to help secure the situation.

The public have been asked to stay at home or in a safe place and follow the news.

“Whether it is possible to take up public life as normal tomorrow morning, that will very much depend on tonight and whether it is possible to catch or eliminate the suspects,” Kurz said.

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has offered his condolences following the shooting in Vienna.

“After tonight’s horrific terrorist attack in Vienna, Austria, Jill and I are keeping the victims and their families in our prayers. We must all stand united against hate and violence,” he said in the Tweet.

Vienna Police said they are using “all forces available” to keep the public safe after gunmen opened fire in the center of the city on Monday evening.

Austrian authorities are still searching for at least one attacker they believe to be on the run following the shootings.

“Our investigations regarding the assault will go on highest level,” the police said.

Gunmen with automatic weapons opened fire at six locations in central Vienna Monday night, killing at least one person and injuring 15 others. One gunman has been shot dead by police, while at least one assailant remains on the run.

Armed policemen stand guard in a shopping street in the center of Vienna on November 2.

More details are emerging about the Vienna attack. Here’s a summary of what we know so far:

The incident

Gunmen with automatic weapons opened fire at six locations in central Vienna on Monday evening, killing at least one person and injuring 15.

Austrian officials have described the incident as a terror attack.

The suspects

One gunman has been shot dead by police, while at least one assailant remains on the run. Authorities are urging the public to stay inside while a manhunt is underway.

The attackers were “very well equipped” with automatic weapons and “professionally prepared,” according to Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

However, authorities have so far discouraged speculation as to the attackers’ potential motive.

The timing

Gunfire erupted at around 8 p.m. local time, hours before the start of a nationwide lockdown to combat a resurgence of Covid-19.

The city’s bars and restaurants were packed, with people sitting outside due to the warm weather, enjoying their last few hours of freedom.

The location

The shooting occurred near Vienna’s main synagogue, the Seitenstettengasse Temple, in a busy area packed with cafes and restaurants.

Kurz said that “an anti-Semitic motive cannot be excluded” due to the attack’s proximity to the synagogue.

Oskar Deutsch, the head of Vienna’s Jewish community, said in a tweet that it was unclear whether the synagogue was a target, but that it was closed at the time of the shooting. He said all Jewish institutions, including schools and kosher restaurants, will be closed Tuesday as a precaution.

The reaction

In a press conference in the early hours of Tuesday, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said it was “the hardest day for Austria for many years.”

He added that “Those who attack one of us, attacks all of us.”

Across Europe, leaders have strongly condemned the shooting, which follows two terror attacks in France in recent weeks.

“After France, it is a friendly country that is under attack,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter.

Other leaders have shared statements expressing their shock and sorrow, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The sight of men with what appear to be semi-automatic rifles in a European capital may raise immediate questions for many observers over how they could acquire such weapons in a continent known for relatively tight gun laws. 

Austria has some of the most permissive gun laws in Europe, according to monitoring group GunPolicy.org. Private gun ownership is permitted for various reasons, including self defense. People can own handguns, repeating shotguns and certain types of semi-automatic weapons with a license. Applicants must pass a background check before they can acquire a weapon. 

According to the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based research group, Austria is the 12th most armed country in the world, with around 30 guns per 100 people, similar to Lebanon, Bosnia and Iceland. By comparison, the United States has 120 guns per 100, and the most-armed European country, Macedonia, has 39.1. 

All synagogues, Jewish schools and the institutions of the Jewish Community of Vienna, as well as kosher restaurants and supermarkets, in the Austrian capital will close Tuesday as a precaution, Oskar Deutsch, President of the Jewish Religious Community in Austria said on Twitter. 

Shots were fired on Monday evening near Vienna’s main synagogue, the Seitenstettengasse Temple, in a busy area packed with cafes and restaurants.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said “an anti-Semitic motive cannot be excluded because of the location where it happened.”

The synagogue was closed at the time of the attack as the evening prayer had ended, Deutsch said in the statement, adding that “whether the city temple was also the target of the attack, can currently neither be confirmed nor ruled out.”  

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press briefing at United Nations Headquarters on February 4, in New York City.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres extended his condolences to those impacted in the Vienna attack, according to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General.

“The Secretary-General is following with utmost concern the still evolving situation in Vienna’s city centre where violent attacks in several places have been reported today, with at least one bystander killed and several others wounded, including members of the security forces,” read the statement from the spokesman.   

Austrian authorities are still searching for at least one attacker they believe to be on the run following a shooting in Vienna, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.

Gunmen with automatic weapons opened fire at six locations in central Vienna on Monday evening, killing at least one person and injuring 15, including a police officer, according to Austrian authorities. One gunman has been shot dead by police.

Nehammer urged people to stay home and avoid the city center. Children will not be expected to attend school on Tuesday, he said, adding that those who are able to should work from home. 

“Those who attack one of us, attacks all of us,” he said. 

Julia Hiermann, a resident in Vienna, was at a restaurant having drinks with a friend when the shooting began on Monday.

A nationwide lockdown was about to go into effect at midnight to combat Covid-19, so she wanted to “take advantage of the last night,” she told CNN on the phone.

After the attack began, restaurant staff told everyone to hide in the basement, she said.  

“Everyone ran down and then we started realizing what’s going on,” she said.  

She and others in the basement were told there were people shooting outside the restaurant. Hiermann told CNN she did not see or hear any of the attackers. 

The police later came “inside and told us we have to stay inside and wait here,” she said.  

“This seems unimaginable. When they said shots fired I didn’t think this was serious.”  

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel tweeted: “Europe strongly condemns this cowardly act that violates life and our human values. My thoughts are with the victims and the people of Vienna in the wake of tonight’s horrific attack. We stand with Austria.” 

The 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.”

The German Foreign Office tweeted: “Terrifying and disturbing news from Vienna: Even we don’t know the full extent of the terror yet, our thoughts are with the injured and victims at this difficult time. We will not give way to hatred which is aimed at dividing our societies,”

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that his country shares the “shock and sorrow” being felt by the Austrian people, adding: “After France, it is a friendly country that is under attack. This is our Europe. Our enemies must know who they are dealing with. We will yield nothing.”

The Belgian Foreign Ministry tweeted: “Our hearts go out to the victims of the attack in Vienna and their families. Belgium supports our Austrian friends in these tough moments.”

Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte condemned the attack, tweeting: “there must be no place for hatred and violence in our common European house. Solidarity with the Austrian people, the relatives of the victims and the injured.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted: “Following the information that comes from Vienna during a painful evening with an attack that doesn’t make sense. Hate won’t defeat our societies. Europe will stand firm against terrorism. Our love to the victims families and solidarity with the Austrian people.”

Ireland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney tweeted: “Thoughts are with our friends in #Austria tonight after a terror attack in Vienna.”

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted: “We are saddened to receive the news that there are dead and wounded as a result of the terrorist attack that took place in Vienna. We strongly condemn this attack … extend our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and wish speedy recovery to the wounded. As a country that has been fighting against all sorts of terrorism for decades Turkey stands in solidarity with the Austrian people.”

Austria's Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz speaks to the media after a meeting with Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder at the German-Austrian Border on October 9, in Bad Reichenhall, Germany.

The gunmen still at large in the terror attack in Vienna were “professionally prepared,” Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said.

“They (the perpetrators) are very well equipped, have automatic weapons, thus very professionally prepared,” he said on Austrian broadcaster ORF.

One of the attackers was shot dead, police said earlier. The others remain at large.

Additional security has been placed at hospitals in Vienna, the head of the Viennese hospitals Michael Binder said.

“The hospitals are very well secured,” he said.

Fifteen people are being treated in hospital in the wake of the attack, including seven who were seriously injured, according to Binder.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said the Vienna shooting is “definitely a terror attack.”

He added that “an anti-Semitic motive cannot be excluded” due to the attack’s proximity to a synagogue in the city center.

Oskar Deutsch, the head of Vienna’s Jewish community, earlier said in a tweet it was unclear whether the synagogue was a target, and that it was closed when the shooting began.

One of the suspects has been shot dead, police said, but authorities are continuing to search for the others. Kurz said a police officer is among the injured, but is “thankfully not in danger.”

Police officers stay in position at stairs named 'Theodor Herzl Stiege' near a synagogue after Austrian police say several people have been injured and officers are out in force following gunfire in Vienna on Monday, November 2.

The gunmen responsible for Monday’s attack in central Vienna are still at large, said Austria’s Interior Minister Karl Nehammer.

Speaking on public broadcaster ORF, he said: “We are still in battle against the would- be terrorists.”

“We assume there are several heavily armed perpetrators,” he added.

Police said one of the attackers was shot dead. 

The US Embassy in Vienna has issued an “Urgent Security Alert” on its website and social media accounts, after a suspected terror attack in the Austrian capital.

The alert reads:

It also advises people to avoid the area, follow local authorities’ instructions, and monitor local media for updates.

Similar messages have been posted or retweeted on the US Embassy Vienna’s social media account, warning of an active shooter situation.

Police cars and ambulances stand in the central Vienna on November 2, following a shooting near a synagogue.

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.

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.