Officers of the Austrian State Legal Police are seen close to a cordoned off space after a knife assault close to the principle sq. within the metropolis centre of Villach, southern Austria on February 15, 2025. (Photograph by GERD EGGENBERGER / APA / AFP)
VIENNA – Authorities mentioned a 23-year-old man stabbed 5 passersby in southern Austria on Saturday in what was a random assault that left a 14-year-old lifeless and 4 others injured.
What we all know:
The suspect was detained within the metropolis of Villach, the place the assault occurred, police mentioned. He’s a Syrian nationwide with authorized residence in Austria, they mentioned.
The victims have been all males, with two severely injured and two sustaining minor accidents, police mentioned.
RELATED: Caribbean vacationer attacked whereas attempting to ‘interact’ with shark for picture, officers say
What we do not know:
Police spokesperson Rainer Dionisio mentioned a motive was not instantly recognized. He added that police have been investigating the attacker’s private background. “We’ve to attend till we get safe info,” he mentioned.
Police mentioned it wasn’t clear whether or not the suspect acted on his personal and continued to seek for potential further suspects. It was additionally not recognized whether or not there may be any connection between the attacker and the victims.
Dig deeper:
The problem of migration has taken heart stage in lots of European nations, with far-right events making inroads in elections.
In Austria, migration was a distinguished subject main as much as final yr’s election, which resulted within the far-right Freedom Occasion securing its first nationwide election victory since World Battle II.
RELATED: Former hostage describes time in Hamas captivity: “Starved and tortured”
On Saturday, police in neighboring Germany mentioned a 2-year-old lady and her mom died two days after being injured in a car-ramming assault throughout a labor union demonstration in Munich. It marked the fifth assault involving immigrants in Germany over the previous 9 months, with migration turning into a major situation forward of upcoming elections on Feb. 23.
Native perspective:
A 42-year-old man who works for a meals supply firm witnessed the incident from his automobile, police mentioned. He drove towards the suspect and helped to forestall issues from getting worse, Dionisio instructed Austria’s public broadcaster ORF.
What they’re saying:
Peter Kaiser, the governor of the Austrian province of Carinthia, expressed his condolences to the household of the 14-year-old sufferer.
“This outrageous atrocity have to be met with harsh penalties. I’ve at all times mentioned with readability and unambiguously: Those that reside in Carinthia, in Austria, must respect the legislation and modify to our guidelines and values.”
Erwin Angerer, a lawmaker for the far-right Freedom Occasion, mentioned his celebration had been warning in regards to the state of affairs in Austria on account of the nation’s “disastrous asylum coverage.”
Conservative celebration chief Christian Stocker mentioned on the X social media platform that the attacker “have to be dropped at justice and be punished with the total drive of the legislation.”
“All of us need to reside in a secure Austria, including that this implies political measures have to be taken to “keep away from such acts of horror sooner or later,” he mentioned.
Chief of the Social Democrats, Andreas Babler, mentioned on X that “the total drive of the legislation” have to be used. “Crimes like this one merely mustn’t occur in our society.”
Austria’s Inside Minister Gerhard Karner was anticipated in Villach on Sunday morning, in accordance with Austria’s public broadcaster ORF.
The backstory:
Based on the Austrian Ministry of Inside, 24,941 foreigners utilized for asylum in Austria in 2024. The most important group of candidates comes from Syria, adopted by Afghanistan.
Over the previous two years, the variety of asylum seekers has decreased considerably. In 2022, functions peaked at over 100,000, whereas roughly 59,000 people sought asylum in 2023.
A number of European nations, amongst them Austria, mentioned in December they’re suspending selections on asylum claims by Syrian nationals due to the unclear political state of affairs of their homeland following the autumn of Bashar Assad.
The Supply: The Related Press contributed to this report. The data on this story additionally got here from Austrian police statements, together with spokesperson Rainer Dionisio, and public officers akin to Carinthia Governor Peter Kaiser and lawmakers from numerous political events. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
