Villach, Austria: A Syrian asylum seeker's knife attack in Villach, Austria, has left a 14-year-old boy dead and five others injured. Disturbing images show the suspect grinning during his arrest.
The 23-year-old man, identified locally as Ahmad G, allegedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" before the attack, which occurred just before 4:00 pm on Saturday. Witnesses describe a scene of terror lasting less than ten minutes. Five people were wounded, two seriously.
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Alaaeddin Alhalabi, a Syrian food delivery driver, bravely intervened, ramming his car into the attacker to stop the bloodshed before police arrived.
Motive under investigation
Austrian authorities are investigating whether the suspect had an accomplice and a possible Islamist motive. This attack follows a similar incident in Munich, Germany, where an Afghan bodybuilder drove into a crowd.
Police spokesman Rainer Dionisio said: "A man randomly attacked passers-by with a knife... 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... The oldest victim was 36 years old."
Dionisio confirmed the suspect is a Syrian asylum seeker with a valid residence permit and no criminal record. "We could not yet say anything about the motive of the attack, but were verifying eyewitness accounts that the attacker had shouted 'Allahu Akbar'."
Political fallout
Carinthia Governor Peter Kaiser called for the "harshest consequences" for this "unbelievable atrocity." He stated, "Anyone who lives in Carinthia, in Austria, must respect the law and must adapt to our rules and values... Anyone who violates these rules must face the harshest consequences; they must be put on trial, imprisoned and deported."
Far-right leader Herbert Kickl called the attack a "system failure" and demanded "a rigorous clamp-down on asylum."
This attack comes shortly after a car-ramming incident in Munich, where a two-year-old girl and her mother died. The suspected driver, an Afghan asylum seeker, may have had Islamist extremist motives.
With Agency inputs
Published: 16 Feb 2025, 10:31 am IST
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