A 23-year-old man stabbed five people in a random attack in southern Austria on Saturday, leaving a 14-year-old boy dead and four others injured, according to police.
Authorities detained the suspect in Villach, where the attack occurred. He has been identified as a Syrian national with legal residency in Austria, police said.
Police spokesperson Rainer Dionisio stated that the suspect’s motive remains unclear, and investigations into his background are ongoing. “We have to wait until we get secure information,” he said.
A 42-year-old food delivery worker witnessed the incident from his car and intervened, helping to prevent further casualties, Dionisio told Austria’s public broadcaster ORF.
The victims, all male, included two individuals who sustained serious injuries, while the other two suffered minor wounds, police said.
Peter Kaiser, governor of the Austrian province of Carinthia, extended condolences to the family of the 14-year-old victim. “This outrageous atrocity must be met with harsh consequences. Those who live in Carinthia, in Austria, must respect the law and adapt to our values,” he said.
Far-right leader Herbert Kickl condemned the attack on X, calling it “horrific” and expressing sympathy for the victim’s family. He also criticized Austrian immigration policies, stating, “At the same time, I am angry—angry at those politicians who have allowed stabbings, rapes, gang wars, and other capital crimes to become the norm in Austria.”
Kickl further claimed that the current asylum policies have failed, urging stricter immigration laws: “We need a rigorous crackdown on asylum and must not continue to import conditions like those in Villach.”
Conservative party leader Christian Stocker echoed similar sentiments, demanding the suspect be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. “We all want to live in a safe Austria, and political measures must be taken to prevent such acts in the future,” he wrote on X.
Social Democrat leader Andreas Babler also weighed in, emphasizing the necessity of swift justice. “The full force of the law must be applied. Crimes like this simply should not happen in our society,” he stated.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the suspect acted alone and are continuing to search for potential accomplices. No known connection between the attacker and the victims has been established.
Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner is expected to visit Villach on Sunday morning, with authorities planning to set up a public mourning area in the city center for those wishing to grieve.
According to Austria’s Interior Ministry, 24,941 foreigners have applied for asylum in the country in 2024. The largest group of applicants came from Syria, followed by Afghanistan. The number of asylum seekers has significantly decreased from over 100,000 in 2022 to approximately 59,000 in 2023.
In December, several European nations, including Austria, suspended decisions on asylum claims from Syrian nationals due to the unstable political situation in Syria. Migration remains a key political issue across Europe, with far-right parties gaining traction in recent elections.
In a related incident, German authorities reported that a two-year-old girl and her mother died two days after being struck in a car-ramming attack during a labor union demonstration in Munich. This marks the fifth immigrant-related attack in Germany in the past nine months, with migration emerging as a central issue ahead of the country’s elections on February 23.
AP
