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Vienna terrorist attack: three dead, including one suspect, in Austria shootings – live updates Vienna terrorist attack: three dead, including one suspect, in Austria shootings – live updates
(32 minutes later)
Authorities say at least two civilians died and at least one gunman is on the run after shootings across six locationsAuthorities say at least two civilians died and at least one gunman is on the run after shootings across six locations
Vienna’s Director General for Public Security Franz Ruf is speaking now. He says, “We have worked intensely on identifying the attacker.”
“The home of the violent attacker was searched. 20,000 video were uploaded and given to us, and we have already searched 20% of this content.” (a note that we didn’t quite catch that percentage figure, but we thing it was 20%).
Nehammer: “Terror and violence definitely have no place in our society. We won’t let our freedom be taken away from us.”
Nehammer has confirmed that the attacker who was killed was “heavily armed with an explosive belt, and were his sympathisers”.
“We have increased checks in public areas.”
“The police have done an outstanding job,” he says. “Even those who were on holidays – a big thank you to them and to other countries for their assistance.”
“There are investigations currently that I can’t reveal at the moment,” says Nehammer.
“For people in Vienna: if possible, stay home. There’s no school today, so if you can leave your child at home today, you can do so.”
“Austria is a democracy, shaped by free speech, tolerance in living together,” says Nehammer.
“The attack yesterday is an attack of these values and an inadequate attempt to divide us. We will not stand for this. There will be consequences,” he says.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer is speaking now:
“My thoughts in these difficult hours are with the victims and the relatives. We think of the dead and injured, including one officer on duty,” he says.
“We have experienced an attack from an Islamist terrorist.”
You can watch the update from the Vienna Police at the link below – we will bring you the key points in English.
As we wait for the police press conference to begin – it is scheduled to start in 5 minutes, here is how some foreigners currently living in Vienna experienced the attacks.
Louis Glen is from the UK but has recently moved to Vienna to study. He wrote earlier:
Comhall Fanning is Irish, and this is his second year living in Vienna. He works as an English Language Assistant:
Here is our full report on how the attacks unfolded last night:
Ben Doherty and Helen Sullivan:
Monday night in Vienna was supposed to be a last chance at freedom.
The weather was mild, and as the hours ticked down before a nationwide coronavirus curfew largely shut down the city for a month, the bars and restaurants of the “Bermuda triangle” – a network of narrow, fashionable lanes in the old city’s 1st district – were busy.
Diners and drinkers sat at tables outside, enjoying a last moment of revelry before another pandemic lockdown amid the full blast of winter.
Without warning, at 8pm on Seitenstettengasse street, a winding cobbled boulevard a block back from the Danube Canal, the shooting started:
US president Donald Trump has tweeted about the attack, calling it “evil” and a “vile act of terrorism.”US president Donald Trump has tweeted about the attack, calling it “evil” and a “vile act of terrorism.”
“The US stands with Austria, France, and all of Europe in the fight against terrorists, including radical Islamic terrorists,” Trump wrote“The US stands with Austria, France, and all of Europe in the fight against terrorists, including radical Islamic terrorists,” Trump wrote
A reminder that you can get in touch with me directly via email on helen.sullivan@theguardian.com or Twitter @helenrsullivan.A reminder that you can get in touch with me directly via email on helen.sullivan@theguardian.com or Twitter @helenrsullivan.
A sincere thank you to those who have written to us already. We hope to have more updates from people who are currently in Vienna as the city wakes up. It is currently nearly 5.30 am. The police are due to hold a press conference at 6am.A sincere thank you to those who have written to us already. We hope to have more updates from people who are currently in Vienna as the city wakes up. It is currently nearly 5.30 am. The police are due to hold a press conference at 6am.
Three people have died in the Vienna attacks on Monday night, including two civilians and one attacker.Three people have died in the Vienna attacks on Monday night, including two civilians and one attacker.
At least one gunman remained on the run at 1am Vienna time, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said. He warned the assailants were “heavily armed and dangerous” and urged the public to stay indoors until the all-clear was given.At least one gunman remained on the run at 1am Vienna time, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said. He warned the assailants were “heavily armed and dangerous” and urged the public to stay indoors until the all-clear was given.
15 people were injured and taken to hospital after the attack that began shortly after 8pm local time on Monday. One of the injured is thought to be a policeman. Seven of the injured were in a serious condition, Vienna’s mayor Michael Ludwig, said.15 people were injured and taken to hospital after the attack that began shortly after 8pm local time on Monday. One of the injured is thought to be a policeman. Seven of the injured were in a serious condition, Vienna’s mayor Michael Ludwig, said.
The attacks began with volleys of gunfire and the injury and death tolls are expected to rise.The attacks began with volleys of gunfire and the injury and death tolls are expected to rise.
The dead attacker is believed to have been shot outside St Rupert’s Church. Some early reports suggested he wearing an explosive belt, but police have not confirmed this.The dead attacker is believed to have been shot outside St Rupert’s Church. Some early reports suggested he wearing an explosive belt, but police have not confirmed this.
The assaults, by an unknown number of shooters carrying long firearms, occurred at six locations close to Seitenstettengasse in the heart of the Austrian capital.The assaults, by an unknown number of shooters carrying long firearms, occurred at six locations close to Seitenstettengasse in the heart of the Austrian capital.
The Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, described the assaults as “definitely” being a terror attack. He added that it had been “very professionally” planned. Kurz has called the military onto the streets of Vienna.The Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, described the assaults as “definitely” being a terror attack. He added that it had been “very professionally” planned. Kurz has called the military onto the streets of Vienna.
Police and security authorities have asked people not to share videos and images on social media of the attacks. Authorities have said is hampering attempts to neutralise the offenders.Police and security authorities have asked people not to share videos and images on social media of the attacks. Authorities have said is hampering attempts to neutralise the offenders.
Police have told residents to keep away from the centre of Vienna.Police have told residents to keep away from the centre of Vienna.
Early reports suggested the nearby Stadttempel synagogue could have been the target of the attack. But Oskar Deutsch, president of Vienna’s Jewish community, said the synagogue on Seitenstettengasse was closed at the time of the attack. He told the Kurier newspaper it was “unclear” if it was a target.Early reports suggested the nearby Stadttempel synagogue could have been the target of the attack. But Oskar Deutsch, president of Vienna’s Jewish community, said the synagogue on Seitenstettengasse was closed at the time of the attack. He told the Kurier newspaper it was “unclear” if it was a target.
The attack occurred on the last night before a new coronavirus lockdown was due to come into force in the city.The attack occurred on the last night before a new coronavirus lockdown was due to come into force in the city.
Schools will be closed in Vienna on Tuesday.Schools will be closed in Vienna on Tuesday.
EU and other world leaders have expressed their solidarity with the Austrian people.EU and other world leaders have expressed their solidarity with the Austrian people.
As far as we understand, there is still one attacker currently being looked for by police.
“We have brought several special forces units together that are now searching for the presumed terrorists. I am therefore not limiting it to an area of Vienna, because these are mobile perpetrators,” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told national broadcaster ORF late on Monday.
Kurz said the army would protect sites in the capital so the police could focus on anti-terror operations. Speaking to ORF, he said the attackers “were very well equipped with automatic weapons” and had “prepared professionally”. Nehammer is due to hold a news conference on the situation at 6am lockal time (5am GMT) on Tuesday – just over an hour from now.
White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien has commented on the attacks, saying in a statement posted to the National Security Council’s Twitter account, “There is no justification for hatred and violence like this.”
Gruber said that when they emerged from the cafe, they saw police on the street corners pointing their weapons. Once the crowd had arrived at Schwedenplatz, the police asked them to raise their hands and to show they were not carrying weapons.
“That is the first time police ever aimed at me with their guns,” he said. They were told to take the subway, and Gruber and his friends travelled to another friend’s house where they stayed for a few hours before travelling home by cab. When we spoke, it was 4.30 in the morning an he was at home in the 16th district of Vienna. He had locked a gate that was almost never closed, he said.
“I think that this is an experience that almost nobody who lives here has ever had before,” he said. “I’ve been to several countries and have heard and watched about these attacks [in those countries],” he said.
“But I’ve never been close to one. It was really frightening.”
I have just spoken on the phone to Gernot Gruber, a 24-year-old business student in Vienna. When the attacks began, Gruber was walking to the Hard Rock cafe in Vienna’s city centre, 100m from one of the attacks.
He had his headphones in, he said and when he took them out to greet the friend he was meeting for dinner, he heard several loud bangs.
“If you hear these noises in Austria you don’t think they’re gunshots, you really don’t,” he said. He thought they might be fireworks set off by people celebrating before the lockdown began. But when he and his friend entered the Hard Rock cafe, they heard an American saying he thought the sound was gunshots.
He and his friend followed the man downstairs as upstairs the restaurant staff locked the doors and told people to get away from the windows. A few minutes later, special forces police entered the building and told everyone to leave and run towards Schwedenplatz, away from the attack which was happening 100m away.
The exclamation mark on the map below shows where the attack occurred.
Joe Biden has tweeted his condolences saying that he and his wife Jill “are keeping the victims and their families in our prayers. We must all stand united against hate and violence.”
Here is our video report about the attack tonight in Vienna:
At 3.30am in Vienna, there are still helicopters circling overhead, readers have told me. Because it was the last night before Vienna’s lockdown came into effect, many people were taking the opportunity to go out for one last time.
While some who were in the city have finally made it home, others are spending the night in the places they were at when the attacks began. I have heard from the friends of lawyers sleeping at their offices, from attendees at a barre class that ended shortly after 8pm who are sleeping in the studio and from Markus Husa, who was at a restaurant nearby.
He says that he started to receive text messages at 9pm and that “at that time the first people were leaving the restaurant we were at, unaware of the situation.” His group informed the restaurant staff, who locked the doors and told people to stay inside.
“As I understand now, one site of shootings was a mere 100 meters from our location. It was difficult to get home as public transport didn’t stop anywhere near the first district, it was impossible to get a taxi and the city was to be avoided. Fortunately, a friend picked us up by car,” he says.
He says that friends of his were held in cinemas and theatres and have just arrived home.
We didn’t experience any first hand threat nor police in particular. Friends of mine were held for considerable stretches of time at theatres and cinemas, venues were evacuated by police, many of us just got home in past hour or so.
The Vienna Police have announced that its “investigations regarding the assault will go on highest level” and that all available resources will be used to maintain public security in the city.
Here is the message in German for our Austrian readers:
Here is more from Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister, who told London’s LBC radio he was living in the compound of the central Vienna synagogue.
“Upon hearing shots, we looked down (from) the windows and saw the gunmen shooting at the guests of the various bars and pubs,” he said.
“The gunmen were running around and shooting at least 100 rounds or even more in front of our building,” he said.
A reminder that you can get in touch with me directly via email on helen.sullivan@theguardian.com or Twitter @helenrsullivan.
A sincere thank you to those who have written to us already. We hope to have more updates from people who are currently in Vienna throughout the night.