This story is developing
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At least three people, including a gunman, were reported killed and several others injured in an attack outside the main Synagogue and other locations in Austria’s capital Vienna. According to Vienna-based Krone Zeitung, one of the attackers blew himself up and others accomplices are on the run in what appears to be a coordinated terrorist attack.
“There are reports of a terror attack or a shooting spree near Schwedenplatze on Monday evening in Vienna. Multiple shots were fired and one of the assailant is reported to have blown himself using a suicide vest.” Krone Zeitung reported. “Several attackers are on the run. The police have told residents to avoid the nearby area.”
According to initial reports the active shooters were still at large in the city. Vienna police confirmed “six different shooting locations” amid ongoing manhunt.
Austrian authorities reported a ‘large-scale’ manhunt in central Vienna following the attack. “The private security for the Israeli community in Austria has advised all Jews resident to stay at home,” the newspaper added.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Twitter vowed “decisive action against the perpetrators of this repulsive terrorist attack.”
Austrian Army moved into the city as part of the counter-terrorism operation. “The Federal Army is taking over the task of securing buildings [an apparent reference to government buildings and foreign embassies] and thereby assisting the Vienna Police,” Austrian Defense Ministry spokesman Michael Bauer tweeted. Military Special Forces were also on standby, he added.
Associated Press reported the terror attacks:
Austrian police said Monday that several people were injured and officers were out in force following gunfire in the capital Vienna.Oskar Deutsch, the head of the Jewish community in Vienna, said the shooting took place in the street where the city’s main synagogue is located but that it wasn’t clear whether the house of worship had been targeted.The synagogue was already closed at the time of the shooting, Deutsch tweeted.Austrian news agency APA quoted the country’s Interior Ministry as saying that one attacker has been killed and another could be on the run.Police said the operation in the center of the city was ongoing and urged people to avoid all open spaces and public transport.“There are several injured persons,” police tweeted. “We are on site with all available forces. Please avoid all public squares in the city.”
Today’s incident comes amid several Islamic terrorist attacks in France, which began with the beheading of a Parisian school teacher on October 16. On Thursday, a jihadi beheaded a 70-year woman and two other worshipers inside a church in the French city of Nice. The attack was followed by the shooting of a priest on Saturday outside a Greek Orthodox church in Lyon, southern France.
(Author’s note: The initial death toll of seven was revised to three by major Austrian news outlets)
Raw footage of shots being fired outside synagogue:
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