Vienna-A 23-year-old man stabbed five passersby in southern Austria on Saturday in what the police said it was a random attack that left a 14-year-old boy dead and four other injured.
The suspect was arrested in the city of Villach, where the attack took place, police said. He is a Syrian citizen with legal residence in Austria, they said.
Police spokesman Rainer Dionisio said a reason was not known immediately. He added that the police were investigating the attacker’s personal history. “We have to wait until you get safe information,” he said.
A 42 -year -old man who works for a food delivery company witnessed the incident of his car, police said. He led to the suspect and helped prevent things from getting worse, Dionisio told the Austria Orf public broadcaster.
All the victims were men, with two serious injured and two minor injuries, police said.
Peter Kaiser, the governor of the Austrian province of Carintia, expressed his condolences to the 14 -year -old victim’s family.
“This scandalous atrocity must find hard consequences. I have always said clearly and unambiguously: those who live in Carintia, in Austria, have to respect the law and adapt to our rules and values. “
The extreme right leader, Herbert Kickl, said on the social media platform X that he is “horrified by the horrible act in Villach” and wished the 14 -year -old victim’s family who was killed in the attack “much strength.”
“At the same time, I am angry, angry with those politicians who have allowed stabbing, rapes, gang wars and other capital crimes to become the agenda in Austria. This is a first class failure of the system, for which a young man in Villach has now had to pay with his life, ”said Kickl.
“From Austria to the EU, the wrong rules are in force everywhere. No one is allowed to challenge them, everything is declared sacrosanct, ”he said, adding that his party had outlined what he saw as necessary changes in immigration laws on the electoral platform of his party.
“We need a rigorous offensive against asylum and we should not continue importing conditions such as Villach’s.”
The leader of the conservative party, Christian Stocker, said in X that the attacker “must be taken before justice and be punished with all the force of the law.”
“We all want to live in a safe Austria, and added that this means that political measures should be taken to” avoid such horror acts in the future, “he said.
The leader of the Social Democrats, Andreas Babler, said in X that “the entire force of the law” must be used. “Crimes like this simply should not happen in our society.”
Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner was expected in Villach on Sunday morning, according to Austria Orf Public Issuer.
On Sunday, the authorities planned to establish an area in the city center for those who wish to cry.
Police said it was not clear if the suspect acted alone and continued looking for possible additional suspects. It was not known immediately if there is any connection between the attacker and the victims.
According to the Interior Ministry, 24,941 foreigners requested asylum in Austria in 2024. The largest applicants’ group was from Syria, followed by Afghanistan.
In the last two years, the number of asylum seekers has decreased significantly. In 2022, applications reached their maximum point in more than 100,000, while approximately 59,000 individuals sought asylum in 2023.
Several European countries, including Austria, said in December that they are suspending decisions on asylum claims by Syrian citizens due to the unclear political situation in their homeland after the fall of Bashar Assad.
The issue of migration has taken the center of the stage in many European countries, with extreme right parties that venture into the elections.
In Austria, migration was a prominent issue prior to last year’s elections, which resulted in the Freedom of Extrem Right party securing its first national electoral victory since World War II.
On Saturday, the police in neighboring Germany said that a 2 -year -old girl died two days after being injured in a car attack attack during a manifestation of union in Munich. He marked the fifth attack that involved immigrants in Germany in the last nine months, and migration became an important problem before the next elections on February 23.
