Several people have been injured in the center of Vienna and it is feared that they have also died after several shootings in the Austrian capital.
The Austrian Government is investigating the event, which is not yet controlled, as a probable terrorist attack.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer confirmed that several people carrying long weapons were involved in the attacks, although the circumstances of the event are still unclear.
The police have asked citizens to stay home and have deployed extensively and cordoned off the area.
One of the shootings, which began at around 8:00 p.m., occurred near a synagogue, which was closed when the attack began, according to police reports.
Local media suggest that the objective could be that temple, but the authorities have not confirmed this point.
"At this time I can confirm that we believe that it is apparently a terrorist attack," Nehammer said in statements to ORF television, collected by Reuters.
Police reported at around 8pm that it was carrying out a "major operation" in the center of the Austrian capital, due to an exchange of gunfire, in which several people had been injured.
The agents have cordoned off the area and closed several streets.
The Austrian daily
Kronen Zeitung
has reported that the shots have taken place in a street where a synagogue is located, and has pointed to the possibility that one of the attackers has exploded himself with a bomb.
In addition, there have been more shots in the area near the Schwedenplatz.
One of the injured, who various media consider dead, is apparently a policeman who was cordoning off the area.
Austrian media also claim that at least three people have been admitted to hospitals with serious injuries.
The APA agency has reported at least 15 injured, without official confirmation yet.
According to reports, one of the attackers has been detained, although some media suggest that he could have been shot dead by the agents.
The leader of the Jewish community in Austria, Oskar Deutsch, has indicated on Twitter that it is unclear whether the Vienna synagogue or the attached offices were the target of the shooting.
At that time the religious center was closed.
Authorities have asked the public to stay away and avoid public transportation.
He has also asked that no videos or photos of the operation be shared.
"This endangers both the police forces and the civilian population," they tweeted.
Shots fired in the Inner City district - there are persons injured - KEEP AWAY from all public places or public Transport - don't share any Videos or Photos!
- POLIZEI WIEN (@LPDWien) November 2, 2020
The director of the
Falter
newspaper
, Florian Klenk, has indicated on his social networks that they have videos of the attacker and points out that there is a dead person, but it has not yet been confirmed by the authorities.
“There are videos of the killer.
We just received them and (at the moment) we are not showing them because the police asked us to.
There are also videos of a dead person, ”he wrote on Twitter.
French President Emmanuel Macron has already reacted on Twitter to the events in Vienna and has done so in a message in German in which he affirms that the French "share the shock" of the Austrians at the attack in Vienna.
“After France, it is a friendly country that is attacked.
This is our Europe.
Our enemies must know who they have to deal with.
We are not going to give in, "adds Macron.