The Austrian authorities said Tuesday that five people were killed, including an assailant, and 17 others were wounded in a shooting in the heart of Vienna hours before the coronavirus lockdown began.

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said two men and two women were killed in an attack on Monday night as a result of their injuries. Police also shot and killed a suspected attacker, who was carrying an assault rifle and a fake suicide vest.

"Last night, we experienced an attack by at least one Islamist terrorist," Nehammer told reporters. He declined, citing the ongoing investigation, to elaborate.

The Austrian news agency APA reported that seven people were in life-threatening condition Tuesday after the attack, Vienna's hospital service said. 17 individuals were treated in hospitals in total, with gunshot wounds but also cuts.

Initial investigations indicate that the suspect who was killed had sympathized with the Islamic State group, Nehammer said. APA reported that police searched his apartment and other premises as well.

Nehammer said officials believe that there was more than one attacker, adding that 1,000 security personnel were deployed for the manhunt while assistance was offered by neighboring countries.

"We experienced an attack by at least one Islamist terrorist yesterday evening, a situation we haven't had to endure in Austria for decades," Nehammer said.

"Austria has been a strong democracy for more than 75 years, a mature democracy, a country whose identity is marked by values and fundamental rights, by freedom of expression, by the rule of law, but also by tolerance for human coexistence," he said. "The attack yesterday was an attack on just these values."

On Monday evening, gunmen assaulted six locations in central Vienna, starting outside the main synagogue. Witnesses described the men firing in bars with automatic rifles into crowds, as many people took advantage of the last evening because of COVID-19 before a national curfew was introduced.

Witnesses described the men firing in bars with automatic rifles into crowds, as many people took advantage of the last evening because of COVID-19 before a national curfew was introduced. The police shot one assailant and killed him.

Much of the historic center of Vienna was sealed off by police, urging the public to shelter on the spot. Many sought refuge in bars and hotels, while public transport was shut down throughout the old town and the city was scoured by the police.

In many years, it is the toughest day for Austria. We are dealing with a terror attack the severity of which we have not experienced in Austria in many years, thank God, "Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told a news conference."