Austria’s bishops are praying for the victims of Monday night’s terror attack in Vienna.

Cardinal Schönborn, the city’s archbishop, said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack, adding: “Whatever the background to the attack today, it must be clear that nothing can justify blind violence.”

A gunman, who has since been identified as Islamist terrorist Kujtim Fejzulai, opened fire in six different locations in Vienna, killing at least four people and injuring 17 others. He was shot dead by police.

The city’s bars and restaurants were packed with people enjoying one last evening before a new coronavirus lockdown begins. The dead include an elderly couple, a young male and a waitress.

The attack took place in the vicinity of Vienna’s Stadttempel, a synagogue that was attacked in 1981. Schönborn urged Austrians not to respond to Monday night’s attack with hatred, CNA reports.

“To this blind hatred, hatred can be no answer,” the cardinal said. “Hatred only fuels new hatred.”

Pope Francis also expressed his sorry and dismay at the attack, tweeting: “Enough violence!”

Meanwhile, Archbishop Franz Lackner, President of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference, said the attack was due to a “misguided, inhuman ideology”.

“Believers must condemn this act in the name of God, and inwardly resist it with all their strength of spirit and faith,” he said.

In an address to the nation, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said: “The enemy, Islamist terror, wants to divide our society. We will not give any space to this hatred.”

“Our enemy are not members of a religious community, but terrorists. This is not a fight between Christians and Muslims or Austrians and migrants, but a fight between civilization and barbarism.”

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