Photos: Vienna terrorist attack leaves at least 4 dead and 15 wounded

Berlin: Attackers with rifles and handguns opened fire on the busy streets of central Vienna on Monday night, killing at least 4 people and wounding many more in what government officials quickly labeled a terrorist attack.

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer described the attackers as "heavily armed and dangerous," but no group immediately made a claim of responsibility for the violence.

The police killed at least one of the gunmen, officials said, but at least one other remained at large.

The mayhem was unleashed on a mild autumn night as many Austrians ventured outside for a stroll or a last dinner out just hours before the country was to go on a new nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

The gunmen opened fire at perhaps half a dozen locations, all in the same area, the authorities said.

At least 15 people were being treated for injuries at hospitals, a spokesman for the hospital association said. Michael Ludwig, Vienna's mayor, said at least seven people were seriously hurt. At least one of those shot was a police officer.

"We are going through a dark hour in our republic," Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said in a statement. "Our police will move consequently against the perpetrators of this despicable terror attack."

The attack, which began around 8pm, took place in Vienna's Inner City district, a nightlife hub packed with restaurants and bars a short walk from the Danube.

The police, who reported several "exchanges of shots," mobilized a large response that shut down a segment of the city's historical heart.

The shootings took place near the city's main synagogue, the 19th-century Stadttempel. The temple was closed at the time, and it was not clear if it had been a target, but it was the scene of a terrorist attack in 1981 that killed two people and left dozens wounded.

Early Tuesday, the sense of crisis eased a bit as the police began escorting people out of restaurants and through safety zones. The opera and a theater were also evacuated.

But tensions remained high. "There is a lot to monitor," Ludwig, the mayor, said. "Many people are still in the inner city and we have to see that we get as many of them out of there."