Vienna terror attack: PM Modi says India stands with Austria during this tragic time

New Delhi, Nov 03: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he was saddened by the dastardly terror attacks in Vienna and asserted that India stands with Austria during this tragic time. Gunmen opened fire at multiple locations across central Vienna, killing at least two people and wounding several more. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has described it as a "repulsive terror attack", according to media reports.

"Deeply shocked and saddened by the dastardly terror attacks in Vienna," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. "India stands with Austria during this tragic time. My thoughts are with the victims and their families," he said.

Police said that several shots were fired shortly after 8 pm (1900 GMT) on a lively street in the city center and that there were six shooting locations.

Unverified footage on social media showed gunmen walking through the streets, apparently shooting at people at random, wounding several. The motive was under investigation, but Kurz said the possibility it was an anti-Semitic attack cannot be ruled out, given that the shooting began outside Vienna's main synagogue.

It was closed at the time. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said the army had been asked to guard key locations in the city as hundreds of heavily armed police hunted for the gunmen. He urged people in Vienna to stay indoors and avoid the city center and encouraged parents not to send their children to school on Tuesday.

Kurz praised police for killing one of the attackers and vowed, "We will not never allow ourselves to be intimidated by terrorism and will fight these attacks with all means."

Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig said 15 people were hospitalised, seven with serious injuries. Oskar Deutsch, the head of the Jewish community in Vienna, said it was not clear whether the main synagogue had been targeted.

Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister said he saw at least one person shoot at people sitting outside at bars in the street below his window.