Vienna Police entered the house of the gunman today, i.e., Tuesday, November 3, 2020, using explosives, who carried out the last night’s terror attack, in Austrian capital, killing 4 and injuring 17 people.
At around 20:00 hours last night, i.e., November 2, 2020, a man armed with an automatic rifle, a pistol and a machete opened fire outside cafes and restaurants, near Seitenstettengasse synagogue.
The special forces arrived at the scene and by 20:09 hours, they were able to neutralise the attacker. A policeman also got injured in the process. The Austrian authorities have termed the attack as Islamist attack.
Besides, attacks were also carried out at 5 other places. These include Salzgries, Morzinplatz, Fleishmarkt, Bauernmarket and Graben.
Austrian businessman and leader of Federal Association of Jewish Religious Communities in Austria – Oskar Deutsch informed that the synagogue was closed at the time the attack began. He also said it is unclear if the target of the gunman was the Jewish synagogue.
Condemning the attack, the Chancellor of Austria – Sebastian Kurz tweeted (translated from German), “We are currently going through difficult times in our republic. I would like to thank all the emergency services who risk their lives, especially today for our safety. Our police will take decisive action against the perpetrators of this hideous terrorist attack.” (Original tweet in German: Wir erleben gerade schwere Stunden in unserer Republik. Ich möchte allen Einsatzkräften danken, die insbesondere heute für unsere Sicherheit ihr Leben riskieren. Unsere Polizei wird entschlossen gegen die Täter dieses widerwärtigen Terroranschlags vorgehen.)
He further tweeted (translated from German), “I am glad that our police officers have already been able to eliminate a perpetrator. We will never allow ourselves to be intimidated by terrorism and will fight these attacks resolutely by all means.” (Original tweet in German: Ich bin froh, dass unsere Polizisten bereits einen Täter ausschalten konnten. Wir werden uns durch Terrorismus niemals einschüchtern lassen und diese Angriffe mit allen Mitteln entschieden bekämpfen.)
Sharing his thoughts with the families of the victims, he tweeted (translated from German), “The whole country is in thoughts with the victims, injured and their families, to whom I express my deepest condolences.” (Original tweet in German: Das ganze Land ist in Gedanken bei den Opfern, Verletzten und ihren Angehörigen, denen ich mein tiefes Mitgefühl ausdrücke.)
One of the witness – Chris Zhao who was in a nearby restaurant said, “We heard noises that sounded like firecrackers. We heard about 20 to 30 and we thought that to be actually gunfire. We saw the ambulances… lining up. There were victims. Sadly, we also saw a body lying down the street next to us.”
People were running on the streets after hearing the gunshots. Vienna is on high alert and the police is looking for other suspects, if any. Referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Interior Minister of Austria – Karl Nehammer, said the shooter was an IS sympathizer.
Taking it to twitter, Nehammer tweeted (translated from German), “During these difficult hours, my thoughts are with the victims and their families. We have seen an attack by at least one Islamist terrorist.” (Original tweet in German: Meine Gedanken sind in diesen schweren Stunden bei den Opfern und ihren Angehörigen. Wir haben einen Anschlag von mindestens einem islamistischen Terroristen erlebt.)
He also tweeted (translated from German), “We have been a strong & grown democracy for 75 years. Yesterday’s attack is an attack on our values & a totally unsuitable attempt to weaken our democratic society. We do not put up with this.” (Original tweet in German: Wir sind seit 75 Jahren eine starke & gewachsene Demokratie. Der gestrige Anschlag ist ein Angriff auf unsere Werte & ein völlig untauglicher Versuch, unsere demokratische Gesellschaft zu schwächen. Wir lassen uns dies nicht gefallen).
The police are of the view there could be more attackers hiding somewhere. Police is reviewing more than 20,000 videos for evidence, which it received from the public. A 35-member investigation team has also been set-up. Armed forces have been deployed across Vienna. The people have ben asked to stay at home and follow the news. The attack came at a time when Austria was preparing to enter into Coronavirus (COVID-19) led lockdown from midnight.
The Prime Minister of Britain – Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of Italy – Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Spain – Pedro Sanchez and the President of European Council – Charles Michel have condemned the attack.
