a massive manhunt is underway in
austria as police search for those
behind a suspected islamist
terror attack in vienna four people were
killed when at least one gunman opened
fire in the city center
another 17 people were wounded the
attack happened
yesterday evening as people gathered in
bars and restaurants
hours before the enforcement of new
coronavirus restrictions
the interior minister karl nahamer has
described one of the gunman who was shot
dead by police
as an islamic state sympathizer another
possible attacker is still being hunted
and a suspect has been arrested people
have been urged to avoid central vienna
as leaders around the world have
condemned the attack this report
is from mark labelle
austrian police order people to take
cover
news of an incident emerged just before
eight last night
with reports of several gunmen armed
with rifles
opening fire in six locations
one witness recalls what he saw
we didn't know what's going on to be
honest the only thing we
heard of was the firecrackers the sound
of firecrackers
um and then we only saw what happened
sort of afterwards um you know we saw
their policemen
in the street next to our restaurant we
saw their ambulance
you know lining up next to our
restaurant we saw there were victims
who seemed harmed in a way
it unfolded in a vibrant district of
vienna opposite a synagogue which was
closed at the time
it's not clear if that was a target it
comes a night before a new 8 pm
coronavirus curfew kicks in
for cafes and restaurants there
austria's chancellor has called it a
repulsive terror attack
we are living here in austria and
particularly in vienna through difficult
hours
we are victims of an appalling terrorist
attack in our capital
which is still ongoing i want to thank
the emergency services
they're risking their lives to secure
our safety
boris johnson has tweeted that he is
deeply shocked by the terrible attacks
telling the people of austria the uk
stands united with them
against terror police are still
searching for at least one suspect still
at large
they're urging people to stay at home or
avoid public transport if they're out on
the streets
austria's interior minister described
this as the hardest day for the
country for several years
as the manhunt continues for at least
one heavily armed and dangerous attacker
the special forces are also looking
beyond the capital
mark global bbc news
and let's speak now to eric frye who is
senior editor at
the standard newspaper and he is in
vienna erica thanks very much for your
time this morning
are we any clearer this morning about
the number of suspects that police are
looking for
no we're not uh what we know is that the
reports that came out last night that
there may be six
attackers on the way was probably wrong
and and the likelihood is that it was a
soul a single attacker who was
who was doing the the shooting yesterday
uh
whether there is a whether there is a
company who is now
actually armed and at large is unclear
but the police
statements and the statements of the
interior minister rather sound that they
think it's just one person
but they'd like to find out more about
his background and the people and his
network so
the people who have been also detained
this morning
and questioned seemed to be not involved
in the shooting light last night
directly
but seem to have have contact with him
uh and his islamist background
so the authorities clearly have some
level of information about the
gunman who was shot dead given what
they've said this morning
how have they been able to search any
any properties or carry out any other
searches which have led them to to make
this statement
yes they will immediately somehow they
found they identified the person
they found his apartment which is in the
in a working-class district in vienna
they broke it open
and there apparently they found signs
for his uh
sympathy for the islamic state for
radical islamism
and what they know now is he's 20 years
old he has a criminal record
so he has been known to the police but
this is about this is about all that we
know we don't know where he got his guns
and his weapons from
and we don't know whether he has been
actually involved in
in in in any kind of political activity
before
tell us more eric about the area where
this attack began
last night well it was apparently the
first shooting happened right
in front of the main synagogue in vienna
so it seems like that this was actually
the target
but this area is also one of the main
party and
club and cafe districts and going out
districts in vienna
and last night it was full because this
is the last evening before the curfew
kicks in
and the weather was nice the weather was
warm so there were hundreds thousands of
people on the streets and in in cafes
and bars
and he uh the shooting happened right in
this vicinity so he went from one place
to the next
or he was running or escaping shooting
at various places
and all this was a place with a lot of
people on the street and a lot of
and a lot of activity uh he didn't go he
didn't get very far
basically 15 minutes 20 minutes after
the first emergency call
police was there and they and they and
they stopped him and
they shot him dead so the police
intervention came very fast
and saved probably a lot of lives okay
eric
thank you for your thoughts this morning
eric frye senior editor at
just standard newspaper in vienna for us