Terror Attack: At Least Four Dead in Shooting at Vienna Synagogue

At least four people were killed in the shooting at a synagogue in the center of Vienna on Monday (local time), according to local media reports.
One of the attackers was killed, but he had accomplices, Sputnik cited the broadcaster as saying. The city's police have confirmed information about the shooting noting that there were several injured.

"There is a larger police operation going on in the 1st district of Vienna (Inner City area). Officers are on site and check the situation. We keep you posted on the matter", the Vienna police department wrote on Twitter.
According to local media reports, about 50 shots were fired in the street near the synagogue. (ANI)

Police said three bystanders were killed - two men and a woman - as well as an attacker who was shot dead by police.

The attacker was a sympathizer of the extremist militia group Islamic State and the terrorist attack on central Vienna had an Islamist motive, confirmed Austria's interior minister Karl Nehammer at a press conference.

He was armed with an assault rifle and also wore a dummy explosive belt. He apparently wanted to cause panic, Nehammer added.

Police had earlier said several suspects armed with rifles began shooting in Seitenstettengasse, a street in central Vienna, at around 8 pm and that shots were fired in six different locations.

Nehammer had earlier said at least one suspect was still at large and police are conducting large operation to locate and capture him.

His home was searched for incriminating material.

Vienna has 1,000 police officers deployed in the city, and investigations are in full swing. The public should still avoid the city centre, authorities said. People are advised not to send their children to school in Central Vienna.

"We cannot rule out right now that there might be other perpetrators," Nehammer said.

15 people were injured, including a severely wounded police officer./Dpa

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