Austrian police shot dead one of the suspects who they describe as an ISIS sympathizer.
Rabat – Vienna is on high alert after an attack on Monday during which suspected ISIS gunmen killed four people, including two elderly individuals. As of Tuesday, possible accomplices are still at large.
The victims are an elderly woman, an elderly man, a waitress, and a passerby, the BBC reported.
Police shot dead one suspect who was carrying a rifle during the attack.
Authorities in Vienna described the murders as a terror attack as the first suspect who police killed is a known ISIS sympathizer.
The suspect faced a 22-month sentence in April 2019 for attempting to join the terror group and was released from jail in December 2019.
Police also said the man, who had both Austrian and North Macedonian citizenship, was wearing a fake explosive belt during the attack.
Authorities in the Austrian capital are asking citizens and residents to stay home and avoid the “inner city” if possible as police are reportedly still hunting for possible accomplices.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer also called for children to stay home.
He urged schools to close on Tuesday due to ongoing security operations to find more possible suspects.
The gunmen opened fire in a busy area where bars and restaurants are located near Vienna’s synagogue.
BBC said that security services made several arrests during searches.
The attack in Vienna comes less than a week after a stabbing at a church in Nice southern France, which claimed the lives of three people.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack in Vienna and said that the French share the shock and the grief of the Austrian people.
He said that Europe’s enemies “must know who they are dealing with. We will not give up anything.”
