Austrian police have urged people to stay indoors as they hunt for suspects after a multiple gun attack in the capital Vienna that killed four people.

A gunman shot dead by police has been identified as a 20-year-old "Islamist terrorist". He was released early from jail in December.

Seven of the 17 people wounded have life-threatening injuries. Gunmen opened fire at six locations in the city centre on Monday evening.

Two men and two women were shot dead.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said those victims were an elderly woman, an elderly man, a young male passer-by and a waitress.

It was clearly an attack driven by "hatred of our way of life, our democracy", the chancellor said. He earlier spoke of a "repulsive terror attack".

The nation was engaged not in a battle between Christians and Muslims, he stressed, but "between civilisation and barbarism".

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer described the dead gunman as an "Islamist terrorist", jailed for 22 months in April 2019 after trying to get to war-torn Syria to join Islamic State (IS) jihadists. The 20-year-old had been released early last December under more lenient terms for young adults.

Mr Nehammer urged Austrians to "please stay at home if possible" during the police operation and "avoid the inner city". Children should stay at home, not go to school on Tuesday, he said.

The victims were in a city centre area busy with people in bars and restaurants, near Vienna's central synagogue.

Police cordoned off some streets and brought in reinforcements. They are also being helped by the Austrian army.

Addressing a news conference, Mr Nehammer said police had searched the home of the dead gunman and seized video material. He had been wearing a fake explosive belt, police tweeted.

The man was originally from North Macedonia and had a previous conviction for terrorist association, Mr Nehammer said. He had both Austrian and North Macedonian citizenship.

Several arrests were made during searches of 15 nearby homes. Two suspects were also arrested in St Pölten, a town to the west of Vienna.

The Vienna shooting comes after a spate of Islamist attacks in France.

Earlier, the minister said at least one "heavily armed and dangerous" attacker was believed to be still at large. Officials were quoted as saying there could have been as many as four attackers.

The attack came hours before Austria imposed new national restrictions to try to stem rising cases of coronavirus. Many people were enjoying drinks and eating out before a midnight curfew.

Police named six crime scenes in central Vienna: Seitenstettengasse and nearby Morzinplatz, Salzgries, Fleischmarkt, Bauernmarkt and Graben. The suspect was shot dead near St Rupert's Church.

Austria's government announced three days of national mourning, starting immediately. Flags flew at half-mast and a minute's silence was held at midday. Schools also held a minute's silence for the victims on Wednesday morning.

Police say the incident began at about 20:00 (19:00 GMT), near the Seitenstettengasse synagogue, when a heavily armed man opened fire on people outside cafes and restaurants.

Vienna Community Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister said he saw at least two gunmen shoot at least 100 rounds in front of the synagogue compound. "They were attacking the guests of bars and pubs. People were jumping and running, falling over the tables, running inside the bars followed by the gunmen also running inside the bars." he told London radio station LBC.

Members of the special forces quickly arrived at the scene. One policeman was shot and critically wounded before the perpetrator, armed with an automatic rifle, a pistol and a machete, was, in the chief's words, "neutralised" at 20:09.

Jewish community leader Oskar Deutsch said he synagogue was closed at the time the attack began.

Footage posted on social media showed scenes of chaos as people ran through the streets with gunshots ringing out in the background.

Witness Chris Zhao was in a nearby restaurant when the shooting started.

He told the BBC: "We heard noises that sounded like firecrackers. We heard about 20 to 30 and we thought that to be actually gunfire. We saw the ambulances... lining up. There were victims. Sadly, we also saw a body lying down the street next to us."

A major anti-terrorist operation swung into action and police set up roadblocks around the city centre.

Police in the neighbouring Czech Republic said they were carrying out random checks on the border with Austria in case the gunman fled in that direction.

European leaders strongly condemned the shooting. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "deeply shocked by the terrible attacks" while Germany's Angela Merkel said "the fight against Islamist terrorism is our common struggle".

Austria had until now been spared the sort of attacks that have hit other European countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe must not "give up" in the face of attacks. Three people died in a knife attack in a church in the French city of Nice last week in what he condemned as an "Islamist terrorist attack".

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the UK would "stand ready to support in any way we can".

US President Donald Trump - on the campaign trail ahead of Tuesday's election - described it as "yet another vile act of terrorism in Europe".

His Democratic challenger Joe Biden condemned the "horrific terrorist attack", adding: "We must all stand united against hate and violence."

BBC