A 14-year-old boy died and four other people were injured in a knife attack in southern Austria on Saturday, local police said, adding they have arrested a 23-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker.
The attack comes just two days after a suspected Afghan asylum seeker rammed a car into peoplein 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.
Candles are lit near a police barrier after a knife attack near the main square in the city centre of Villach, southern Austria. Photo / AFP
The incident happened on Saturday just before 4pm local time (4am NZT) 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 2400 letters to revoke refugee status.
The carnage came shortly before Germans head to the polls for a February 23 election where immigration is a key issue following a spate of attacks blamed on migrants.
