A 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker has been arrested as the suspected perpetrator of a brutal knife attack in the Austrian town of Villach.
The attack took place on Friday evening, and according to witnesses, the man attacked passers-by at random in the city center.
According to witnesses, the perpetrator shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack and laughed when he was arrested. Rainer Dionisio, a longtime press officer with the Austrian police, expressed astonishment at the attack.
– I have never seen anything like this in my 20 years in the profession, he said at a press conference afterwards.
A 14-year-old boy was killed and at least five people were injured, three of whom are in intensive care.
A food vendor, also of Syrian origin, managed to stop the attack by using his car to run over the perpetrator, thus preventing further injuries.
– I couldn’t just stand there and watch, I had to do something, the food vendor told Kronen Zeitung.
The suspect was subsequently arrested by the police, who also called in the Cobra special forces.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (Christian Democrat ÖVP) declared that the attack will be thoroughly investigated and that any links to extremism will be clarified.
