Syrian asylum seeker arrested after deadly stabbing attack in Austria

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Police are seen after a knife attack near the main square in the city centre of Villach, southern Austria where a 14-year-old boy died and four other people were injured in the knife attack involving a 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker. — Pic by AFP

VIENNA, Feb 16 — A Syrian asylum seeker was arrested after a teenager was stabbed to death and five other people were wounded in southern Austria yesterday, police said, sending shockwaves through the Alpine nation.

The attack comes just two days after a suspected Afghan asylum seeker rammed a car into people in the city of Munich in neighbouring Germany, killing two people and wounding dozens of others.

In the Austrian city of Villach, a man “randomly attacked passers-by with a knife,” police spokesman Rainer Dionisio told AFP.

Officers had arrested a 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker, he said. “One victim, a 14-year-old boy, died,” he added.

The number of wounded increased from four earlier to five, including two who were seriously hurt, Dionisio said. The oldest victim was 36 years old.

The incident happened yesterday just before 4pm local time (1500 GMT) in the centre of the city in Carinthia province.

A passing food delivery rider — also from Syria — intervened, ramming his vehicle into the attacker, who was lightly hurt and was arrested “right after the attack,” said Dionisio.

The suspect is a Syrian asylum seeker with a valid residence permit and no criminal record, according to preliminary information, he added.

Dionisio said they could not yet say anything about the motive of the attack but were verifying eyewitness accounts that the attacker had shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).

‘Harshest consequences’

Carinthia Governor Peter Kaiser of the Social Democrats called for the “harshest consequences” for this “unbelievable atrocity.”

“I have always said very clearly and unambiguously: Anyone who lives in Carinthia, in Austria, must respect the law and must adapt to our rules and values,” he said.

“Anyone who violates these rules must face the harshest consequences; they must be put on trial, imprisoned and deported.”

Far-right leader Herbert Kickl — whose party won September’s national elections for the first time ever — said he was “appalled” by the attack, calling it a “system failure.”

“We need a rigorous clamp-down on asylum,” he said in a statement.

Kickl’s Freedom Party (FPOe) this week failed in talks to form a government with the runner-up and incumbent conservatives.

Austria hosts a large Syrian refugee population of almost 100,000.

After Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in Syria in December, Austria and several European countries froze pending asylum requests from Syrians to reassess the situation.

In addition, Austria has stopped family reunifications and sent out at least 2,400 letters to revoke refugee status.

The interior ministry has said it is preparing “an orderly repatriation and deportation programme to Syria.”

Austria has so far only seen one jihadist attack, in 2020, when a convicted IS sympathiser went on a shooting rampage in downtown Vienna, killing four.

The Villach attack follows Thursday’s car-ramming attack in Munich.

A two-year-old girl and her mother died yesterday from injuries suffered in that attack, which wounded 37 other people.

A 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker was arrested on suspicion of deliberately driving the car into a trade union demonstration.

German police said he may have had Islamist extremist motives for the attack.

The carnage came shortly before Germans head to the polls for a Feb 23 election, where immigration is a key issue following a spate of attacks blamed on migrants. — AFP