A shooting at a synagogue in the Austrian capital, Vienna, resulted in at least two dead and about 15 wounded this Monday, according to local police, who triggered a mega-operation there. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer speaks of an “apparent” terrorist attack in statements to ORF, and there is no certainty about how many attackers there would be.
We assume that there are several attackers, several injured and probably also killed “, he stated.
Austrian police later confirmed that the attack continued beyond the shooting in the square. In all, the police speak at six crime scenes, several attackers, two fatalities (including one of the attackers) and several wounded, including a policeman.
The Vienna police asked the population to avoid local and public transport. An order was later issued that prohibits all transports from circulating near the location where the shooting took place.
In view of the uncertainty regarding the number of attackers, the Czech Republic has ordered a check to be carried out along the border with Austria, trying to prevent any of the attackers from trying to escape to the country.
The authorities are appealing to the population not to share images of the place, which is located in the first district of the Austrian capital, in a very central area of the city, next to the Schwedenplatz square. Conversely, citizens who have images of the event are asked to upload them to a link provided by the police.
The Austrian Interior Minister confirmed to several local media that a person is already in detention.
In the first statement to the country, the Austrian chancellor also confirmed the death of one of the attackers by the police. Sebastian Kurz speaks of “terrorist attacks”, saying that they should not be intimidated by episodes like this.
The official added that the police had set up a security perimeter around the city, as there seems to be no certainty that all the suspects in the attack were intercepted.
The president of the republic, Van der Bellen, has also expressed his condolences to the victims’ families.
Police were asked not to speculate on possible fatalities.
The correspondent for Israel’s public television station shared images of what appears to be one of the attackers. According to Amichai Stein, the attack was perpetrated by several men.
The mayor of Vienna has already responded to the attack, proving to be “deeply shocked”. Michael Ludwig confirmed that the operations are still taking place in various locations in the Austrian capital.
The newspaper Kronen newspaper talks about the exchange of several shots, adding that one of the attackers will have exploded a bomb he was carrying in his body, and that attacker would have died. The same publication states that there is at least one life threatening police officer.
In statements to the radio ORF, a witness at the scene said the shots were fired using an automatic weapon: “It looked like an explosion. Then I realized it was shots. Then I saw a person running and shooting with an automatic weapon. The police came and fired”.
That same witness reported that she heard “at least 50 shots,” while seeing a person on the floor bleeding.
One of the shootings happened near a synagogue, which was closed when the attack started, around 8 pm local time [19:00 em Lisboa].
The European Union has already “vehemently condemned” the “horrific attack” that occurred today, through a publication on Twitter by the President of the European Council Charles Michel, calling it “a cowardly act”.
Europe strongly condemns this cowardly act that violates life and our human values. My thoughts are with the victims and the people of Vienna after tonight’s horrific attack. We are beside Austria “, it can be read.
A synagogue is the place of worship for the Jewish religion, and the Israeli community in Vienna has already asked its members to avoid going out.
MNE condemns attack in Vienna and says that religious freedom is “fundamental value”
The Foreign Affairs Ministry today condemned the attack in Vienna, where a series of shootings caused at least two deaths and several injured, and stressed that “religious freedom is a fundamental value”.
Portugal strongly condemns the attack in Vienna near a synagogue. We express our solidarity with the victims and their families ”, can be read in the message posted on the social network Twitter.
The note released in the official account of the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, also highlights that “religious freedom is a fundamental value”.
French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the terrorist attack in central Vienna.
“Our enemies must know who they are dealing with. We will not give up anything ”, highlighted, in a message posted on Twitter, first in French and then in German.
France has been the victim of several attacks and attempted attacks by radical Islamists since the end of September, including the murder of three people next to a church in Nice on Thursday and the beheading of a teacher he had shown during a class some cartoons of Muhammad.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass also condemned the attacks and expressed solidarity with Austria.
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