Villach in mourning: Shaking knife attack shocked the city!

Villach in mourning: Shaking knife attack shocked the city!

Villach, Österreich - On February 15, 2025, a brutal knife attack in Villach shook the peaceful city. A 23-year-old Syrian attacked passers-by and seriously injured six people. Tragically, a 14-year-old boy succumbed to his injuries. Mayor Günther Albel spoke of a clear attack and emphasized the urgency to rethink asylum policy in Austria. "It has to be the end of the fact that asylum policy in Austria and Europe continues to run as before," he said clear demands to the government. This incident has again focused on the question of security and dealing with endangers, while the city sinks into mourning.

heroism in the middle of the tragedy

Despite the shock wave that the city hit, there were also bright spots. A 42-year-old Syrian named Alaaeddin Alhalabi showed extraordinary civil courage by intervening and preventing worse. Mayor Albel praised his brave commitment and emphasized that Alhalabi was an example of the Syrian community together. In the middle of this pain, a crisis staff was called to cope with the situation as quickly as possible. The city will allow itself a mourning week to commemorate the victims of the attack and at the same time take measures to improve the security situation.

In a worrying situation, the state protection sees that there are currently around 300 threats in Austria that are considered ticking time bombs. The rapid commitment of the police prevented worse - in just seven minutes the perpetrator was neutralized after the first emergency call, as krone.at . However, this incident has also raised deeper questions about the existing security measures. Albel therefore not only calls for consequences for the perpetrator, but also a fundamental revision of the asylum laws and the security architecture in Austria in order to avoid such incidents in the future, according to 5 minutes .