Austrian Police Carry out Manhunt after Vienna Terrorist Attack

After a shooting spree by several gunmen on the streets of the Austrian capital Vienna near the city's central synagogue, a special forces manhunt is underway Tuesday.

Identified as a "repulsive terrorist attack" by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, on Monday about 8 pm, the attackers unleashed their horror on the streets of the old district of Vienna near the Danube, as hundreds of people enjoyed a last night of freedom before a second lockdown at COVID-19.

As police shut down and sealed off large parts of central Vienna in a manhunt, many 'heavily armed and dangerous' assailants remained on the loose, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said late on Monday. Residents were urged to stay indoors.

“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,” Mr. Nehammer told broadcaster ORF.

Austrian police said inquiries were ongoing into the attack at the time of publication in Australia, reporting that one person was killed, including one of the gunmen. Several inpiduals were hospitalized, some in surrounding hospitals in critical condition.

The BBC reported Vienna’s mayor Michael Ludwig confirming one of the victims was killed at the scene of the shootings while a second, a woman, died later in hospital from her wounds. It is believed 14 other people remain in hospital, six in a serious condition.