One person was killed, and five others were injured in stabbings on Saturday in the centre of the town of Villach, with a man from Syria being arrested at the scene, the New York Times reported.
Citing the officials, the New York Times reported that the Syrian asylum seeker who killed a teenager and injured five other people in a knife attack, was inspired by the Islamic State militant group.
The man, who was detained after the attack on Saturday, had become radicalised online, said Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner. The police said they believed that the victims were chosen randomly.
Citing the Interior ministry, the New York Times said that the suspect is 23 years old, came to Austria from Syria in 2020 and was later given asylum, according to the Interior ministry.
The attack in Villach, happened around 4 PM on Saturday when a man started stabbing random people with a folding knife, the police in Villach said.
By the time police reached the place in seven minutes, after getting the first call and the time he was apprehended, the man had killed a 14-year-old and injured five other people.
The attack was eventually stopped by a 42-year-old Syrian national who saw the violence unfolding, according to the authorities.
“A witness saw the event and decided to intervene — he rammed the perpetrator with his car and thus probably prevented worse things from happening,” said Michaela Kohlweiss, the state police director who is in charge of the investigation, New York Times reported.
Two officers were able to restrain and then arrest the suspect immediately afterward. The police said on Sunday the suspect did not have a police record and neither had been monitored by the domestic intelligence. During the search of his apartment, however, police found clear evidence of “Islamist thought” and Islamic State flags hanging on the walls, they said, but no weapons or explosives, New York Times noted.
The police said they were still investigating the suspect’s background and motivation, and that it appeared he had become radicalised online in a very short period.
(With inputs from ANI)
