Syrian stabs passers-by with knife in Austrian town, killing one
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Police officers are seen near a police cordon after a knife attack near the main square in the city centre of Villach, southern Austria on Feb 15.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
VIENNA - A 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker stabbed several passersby in the centre of the Austrian town of Villach on Feb 15, killing a 14-year old boy and injuring five other people, police said, adding that the suspected attacker had been arrested.
Further details, such as whether the attacker knew any of the victims, remained unclear, a spokesperson for the police in the southern state of Carinthia, Mr Rainer Dionisio, said.
Two of the wounded were seriously hurt, he told AFP. The oldest victim was 36 years old.
The incident happened just before 4.00 pm local time (11pm, Singapore time) in the centre of the city in Carinthia province.
A passing food delivery rider – also from Syria – intervened, ramming his vehicle into the attacker, who was lightly hurt and was arrested “right after the attack”, said Mr Dionisio.
The suspect is a Syrian asylum seeker with a valid residence permit and no a criminal record, according to preliminary information, he added.
Mr Dionisio said they could not yet say anything about the motive of the attack, but were verifying eyewitness accounts that the attacker had shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).
Such attacks are extremely rare in Austria. A jihadist killed four people in Vienna in a shooting rampage in 2020 that was the country’s deadliest assault in decades.
Villach is known for its carnival and is in an area that is a tourist hotspot in the summer as it includes one of Austria’s most famous lakes but otherwise attracts little attention.
“I have been in the (Carinthian police) press service for 20 years and cannot recall such an act,” Mr Dionisio told national broadcaster ORF.
Carinthia Governor Peter Kaiser of the Social Democrats called for the “harshest consequences” for this “unbelievable atrocity”.
“I have always said very clearly and unambiguously: Anyone who lives in Carinthia, in Austria, must respect the law and must adapt to our rules and values” he said.
“Anyone who violates these rules must face the harshest consequences; they must be put on trial, imprisoned and deported.”
The attack comes at a time of political upheaval in Austria as the far-right Freedom Party, which came first in September’s parliamentary election, said on Feb 12 it had failed to form a coalition government. The president is now considering whether an alternative to a snap election is available.
Railing against illegal immigration and pledging to increase deportations to countries like Syria and Afghanistan, which it is currently illegal to deport people to, are central to the Freedom Party’s platform and appeal, and the party quickly seized on the Villach attack.
“We need a rigorous crackdown on asylum and cannot continue to import conditions like those in Villach,” Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl said in a statement. REUTERS, AFP
