Man stabs passers-by in Austria and kills 14-year-olds

Man stabs passers-by in Austria and kills 14-year-olds

On Saturday, a 23-year-old man in southern Austria stabbed five passers-by, which the police classified as an arbitrary attack. In this incident, a 14-year-old was killed and four other people suffered injuries.

identity of the perpetrator and crime scene

As the police said, the suspect was arrested in the city of Villach, where the attack took place. He is a Syrian citizen with a legal residence status in Austria. All victims of the attack were male; Two of them suffered serious injuries, while two other light injuries carried away.

examination and motif

The police spokesman Rainer Dionisio said that a motif was initially unclear. He added that the police examined the personal background of the perpetrator: "We have to wait until we receive secure information," he said.

eyewitness and auxiliary measures

A 42-year-old man who works for a food delivery company watched the incident out of his car. He drove towards the suspect and helped to defuse the Situation, as Dionisio reported to the Austrian Radio ORF.

reactions from politicians

Peter Kaiser, the governor of the Austrian state of Carinthia, expressed his condolences to the members of the 14-year-old victim. "This hideous crime has to be answered with hard consequences. I have always said clearly and unequivocally: Anyone who lives in Carinthia must respect the law and adapt to our rules and values," he emphasized.

political statements on the refugee situation

Erwin Angerer, a member of the right -wing populist freedom, expressed that his party has long warned of the consequences of the “catastrophic asylum policy” in Austria. The Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner in Villach was expected on Sunday morning.

Investigations and asylum statistics

The police stated that it was not clear whether the suspect acted alone. Potential accomplices are still being sought. It is also unclear whether there is a connection between the attacker and the victims. According to the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, a total of 24,941 foreigners in Austria applied for asylum, with the largest group from Syria, followed by Afghanistan.

In the past two years, the number of asylum seekers has decreased significantly. In 2022, applications reached their maximum of over 100,000, while in 2023 around 59,000 people were looking for asylum.

Several European countries, including Austria, announced in December that they initially expose decisions on the asylum applications of Syrian citizens due to the unclear political situation in their homeland according to the case of Bashar Assad.

This story continues to develop and is updated regularly.