A Syrian refugee carried out a random knife attack on pedestrians in the city of Villach, in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia, killing a 14-year-old teenager and injuring five other men, including two in critical condition. Police arrested the suspect, a 23-year-old Syrian man with legal residency in Austria.
Police have not revealed the motive behind the incident. Police Spokesman Rainer Dionisio stated that the motive for the crime is still unknown and that authorities are investigating the background of the attacker, who was not previously known to the police. Additionally, police are searching for other potential suspects.
A 42-year-old Syrian man, who works as a food delivery driver, helped apprehend the suspect. According to the police, the man, who was driving at the time of the incident, steered his car toward the suspect in an attempt to stop him from continuing the stabbing, an action that helped prevent the situation from escalating further. According to Kleine Zeitung newspaper, the Syrian man said he saw the attacker holding a knife and stated, “At that moment, I wasn’t thinking — I just drove toward him to stop him.” He added that he is worried “people will think badly of us, but we are not like that,” referring to Syrian refugees.
The incident sparked widespread outrage in Austria. Herbert Kickl, the far-right leader, voiced his strong anger regarding the attack on platform X, stating, “I am furious with the politicians who have allowed stabbing, rape, gang wars, and other crimes deserving of the death penalty to become commonplace in Austria. This represents a fundamental failure of the regime, and a young man has lost his life as a result.”
Carinthia Governor Peter Kaiser expressed his shock at the incident and extended his condolences to the victim’s family. He stated, “This heinous atrocity must be met with serious consequences. I have always clarified it that everyone living in Carinthia and in Austria must respect our laws and adhere to our values.” Kaiser also mentioned that his party is preparing necessary changes to immigration laws to address the flawed regulations that currently govern immigration from Austria to the EU, which cannot be challenged.
Christian Stocker, leader of the conservative party, demanded that the attacker be brought to justice and punished with the full force of the law and that political measures should be taken to avoid such horrific incidents in the future. Andreas Baehler, leader of the Social Democratic Party, agreed, writing on the X platform, “The law must be used with full force. Such crimes should not happen in our society.”
Austria has witnessed a decline in the number of asylum seekers over the past two years, with applications exceeding 100,000 in 2022 but falling to 59,000 in 2023. Last year, the authorities approved 24,457 applications for asylum and subsidiary protection, mostly for Syrians and Afghans.
