4 slain in Vienna terrorist attack

VIENNA: At least one ‘‘Islamist terrorist’’ was responsible for attacks across central Vienna, in which five people were killed, including one attacker, and at least 17 injured, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said yesterday.

A massive search operation has been launched for other attackers, with at least 1000 police officers fanning out across the city, police said.

In an early morning news conference, Nehammer repeated calls for the public to stay off the streets.

Nehammer said police had shot dead one attacker, a man wearing an explosives belt that turned out to be fake, whom authorities have identified as an Islamic State sympathiser.

‘‘We experienced an attack yesterday evening by at least one Islamist terrorist, a situation that we have not had to live through in Austria for decades,’’ he said.

The editor of Vienna's Falter newspaper tweeted that the assailant who was killed was known to domestic intelligence agencies.

The 20yearold had Albanian roots but was born and raised in Vienna, the editor said. He was one of 20 Austrian Islamists who had wanted to travel to Syria.

The assailant, and other potential gunmen, attacked six locations in central Vienna on Monday evening (local time), starting outside the main synagogue. Witnesses described the men firing into crowds in bars with automatic rifles, as many people took advantage of the last evening before a nationwide Covid19 curfew was introduced.

Police confirmed yesterday three civilians — two men and a woman — were killed in the attacks with at least 17 others wounded, seven critically, including a police officer. Broadcaster ORF later said a fourth civilian, a woman, had died.

Nehammer said video material had been seized from the home of the known assailant and police were investigating his potential connections.

News agency APA reported multiple homes had been searched and arrests made, citing the Interior Ministry.

Police sealed off much of the historic centre of the city overnight, urging the public to shelter in place.

Videos circulated on social media of a gunman running down a cobblestone street shooting and shouting. One showed a man gunning down a person outside a bar on the street housing the synagogue.

Condolences poured in from around the world, with top officials from the European Union, France, Norway, Greece and the United States expressing their shock.

French President Emmanuel Macron said ‘‘this is our Europe

. . . our enemies must know with whom they are dealing — we will not retreat’’.