Austria is the scene of six consecutive Vienna attacks

Europe is under threat and terrorist attacks regardless of religious cultures (Catholic, Orthodox or Jewish) over the past five days in France in Nice and Lyon, tonight in Vienna.

Austria is the scene of terrorist attacks tonight in Vienna, in six different locations stormed at the same time. A police officer and an assailant were killed, and another assailant is on the run.

Several armed men spread terror Monday evening in the center of Vienna, near a synanogue, killing two, including a suspect and several injured, in what is “apparently” a terrorist attack according to the authorities.

“At this point, it is not possible to say if the synagogue was targeted,” responded Oskar Deutsch, president of the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG).

The shootings came in the early evening, hours before a containment of Austria to fight the Covid-19 pandemic took effect. Several perpetrators are implicated, Home Secretary Karl Nehammer said, adding that the shootings were still in progress in the evening.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz condemned Monday evening “a disgusting terrorist attack”, after several shootings which left at least two dead, including a suspect, and several wounded in the center of Vienna. “We will never be intimidated by terrorism and we will fight these attacks with all our means,” he wrote on Twitter, expressing his thoughts for “the victims, the injured and their loved ones”.

One of the attackers was reportedly shot dead by the police, promptly intervened at the scene and one of the members was injured. On the spot, the police force mobilized in large numbers to guard the premises, located not far from the opera house, noted an AFP photographer, while passers-by fled.

The European Union immediately “strongly condemned” this “horrible attack”, in the words of European Council President Charles Michel. “Europe strongly condemns this cowardly act which violates life and our human values. My thoughts are with the victims and the people of Vienna after tonight’s horrific attack. We are with Austria, “the official representing the 27 countries wrote on Twitter.

Czech police said Monday evening that they had launched border checks with Austria after an attack in Vienna by armed men. “Police are carrying out vehicle and passenger checks at border posts with Austria as a preventive measure in the wake of the terrorist attack in Vienna,” Czech police said on Twitter.

Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said the Czech law enforcement agencies were in contact with their Austrian colleagues after the attack on Vienna. Prime Minister Andrej Babis expressed on Twitter his “solidarity” with the Austrians. “I am horrified by the attack on the synagogue in Vienna and I want to express my solidarity with all the Austrian people to my friend (Chancellor) Sebastian Kurz,” he wrote.

French head of state Emmanuel Macron also immediately showed his solidarity with the Austrian people.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday “strongly condemned” the shootings that spread terror Monday evening in the center of Vienna, including near a synagogue, killing at least two, including a suspect and several injured. “There is no place for hatred and violence in our common European home,” he said on Twitter in Italian and German, while Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio tweeted that “Europe must react” after this “cowardly attack”.

The latest information on the Vienna shooting:

• The attack was carried out by several attackers, heavily armed.
• Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer spoke of a “terrorist attack”.
• Six separate locations were targeted, all located in the immediate vicinity of the Vienna synagogue.
• Two people were killed: one of the suspects, shot dead by the police, and a passerby.
• 15 people were admitted to hospitals, of which seven were seriously injured. One of the attackers was arrested.

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