Austria: At least one killed, several injured in Vienna shooting

Police confirm ‘several suspects armed with rifles’ carried out the attack at six locations in the Austrian capital.

Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported a large police operation in Schwedenplatz square [Joe Klamar/AFP

2 Nov 2020

At least one person has been killed and several wounded, including a police officer, in central Vienna amid exchanges of fire, the city’s police department said.

Police said on Twitter that the exact circumstances of Monday’s incident were still being determined, adding that “several suspects armed with rifles” carried out the shooting in “six locations”.

 

It added that one attacker was killed.

Austria’s interior minister, Karl Nehammer, called the incident “an apparent terror attack”.

Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported a large police operation in Schwedenplatz.

Local media reported that a synagogue in the area was targeted but Jewish community leader Oskar Deutsch said on Twitter it was not clear whether the Vienna synagogue and adjoining offices had been the target, adding that they were closed at the time.

Police block a street near Schwedenplatz after a shooting [Leonhard Foeger/Reuters]

Armed police patrol at the area around the state opera in central Vienna following the shooting [Joe Klamar/AFP]