Police in Austria on Sunday found a device that looked like a hand grenade, but contained no explosives, at the entrance to a residential building on the same street as two synagogues.
Police have not identified any link to the synagogues, the ORF broadcaster reported.
An employee of one of the synagogues found the object wrapped in a piece of white fabric, according to the report. Sappers removed the object, which appears to have been a 1970s grenade jacket without explosives or a detonator.
The grenade was placed in Templegasse, a street with several Jewish institutions in addition to the synagogue, in the heart of Vienna’s 2nd District, also known as Leopoldstadt. It is home to hundreds of Jewish families, including from Haredi communities.
Vienna is home to most of Austria’s Jewish population of roughly 10,000 people, as per a 2020 study. In addition to Ashkenazim, Vienna also has a small but vibrant community of Bucharan Jews, originating from the Caucasus and Uzbekistan.
