At least 2 people dead and more than a dozen injured in Vienna terror attack

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At least 2 people dead and more than a dozen injured in Vienna terror attack
Austrian Interior Minster Nehammer said late on November 2 that a shooting in central Vienna near a major synagogue appeared to be a terrorist attack and was ongoing.ROLAND SCHLAGER/APA/AFP via Getty Images
  • At least two people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured in a terror attack in Vienna, Austria, on Monday evening, officials said.
  • Police believe there are several suspects and are on the hunt for all involved, The New York Times reported.
  • The area where gunfire erupted is a place for nightlife entertainment, bars, and Vienna's main temple, the Seitenstettengasse synagogue.
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At least two people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured in an apparent terrorist attack in Vienna's city center on Monday night, multiple news outlets reported.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said: "It is definitely a terror attack."

The Austrian news agency APA reported, citing the Ministry of the Interior, said a police officer was among the casualties.

"At the moment we assume there are several perpetrators," said Karl Nehammer, Austria's interior minister.

The Associated Press also reported that one of the suspects was killed.

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"I am glad that our police were able to neutralize one of the attackers," Kurz said. "We will not never allow ourselves to be intimidated by terrorism and will fight these attacks with all means."

As of Tuesday morning, Nehammer said that at least one of the suspects was still at large, The New York Times reported.

Seven of the wounded are hospitalized with serious injuries, the AP reported.

The police have urged residents of downtown Vienna to stay home while they investigate. They also asked people not to distribute photos or video of their whereabouts.

The shooting took place downtown, which is packed with bars. Vienna's main synagogue, on Seitenstettengasse, is also nearby.

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It was closed when the gunfire broke out, and it was not immediately clear if the synagogue was a target, the AP reported.

Police told Puls 24 that there are at least six crime scenes associated with the shooting, all of them downtown.

As the night continued more gunshots were reported in the city's First District and emergency vehicles blocked off streets.

Over 150 special police officers and 100 regular duty officers were in the city center looking for suspects and patrolling the area, The Times reported.

At least 2 people dead and more than a dozen injured in Vienna terror attack
Multiple gunshots were fired in central Vienna on Monday evening, according to police, with the location of the incident close to a major synagogueJOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images

The president of the Jewish Religious Community in Austria, Oskar Deutsch, tweeted that worshippers were asked to remain indoors when the shooting broke out and not to exit onto the public streets.

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Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister told the AP he saw at least one person fired shots at people sitting outside bars in the street below the window.

"They were shooting at least 100 rounds just outside our building," Hofmeister said.

The shooting took place the night before the country would go into a new national lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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