A 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker attacked several pedestrians in the Austrian town of Villach, resulting in the death of a 14-year-old boy and injuries to four others, according to police, who confirmed that the alleged perpetrator has been taken into custody.
Details surrounding the relationship between the attacker and the victims remain uncertain, noted Rainer Dionisio, a spokesperson for the police in Carinthia.
The individuals who were injured ranged in age from 14 to 32, he mentioned.
Mr. Dionisio reported that two of the victims are in critical condition at the hospital following the stabbings.
The violence in Villach follows a recent incident in Munich, where an Afghan national drove his car into a crowd, injuring multiple people, two of whom later succumbed to their injuries.
Officers from the Austrian State Criminal Police are conducting investigations at the scene.
Such incidents are exceptionally uncommon in Austria.
A jihadist carried out a shooting spree in Vienna in 2020, killing four individuals in the country’s deadliest attack in years.
Villach is renowned for its carnival and is located in a popular tourist region, known for one of Austria’s most celebrated lakes, yet it generally draws little media attention.
“I have been part of the (Carinthian police) press service for 20 years and cannot remember witnessing an act like this,” Mr. Dionisio told the national broadcaster ORF.
A man identified by Austrian media as a Syrian food delivery driver intervened by using his car to charge at the attacker, helping to prevent further harm, Mr. Dionisio added.
While the motive for the attack remains to be determined, investigators are looking into eyewitness accounts that claim the attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).
This assault occurs amid political turbulence in Austria, as the far-right Freedom Party, which secured the most votes in September’s parliamentary elections, announced on Wednesday that it failed to form a coalition government.
The president is now contemplating potential alternatives to a snap election.
The Freedom Party’s platform heavily emphasizes opposition to illegal immigration and vows to increase deportations to countries like Syria and Afghanistan, where such deportations are currently prohibited, and the party swiftly capitalized on the Villach incident.
