On Saturday (February 15.02th) at around XNUMXpm, a Syrian man attacked several passersby with a knife in Fillach, Austria. The attacker "randomly attacked passersby," witnesses said, and shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he did so.
According to police, five people aged 14 to 35 were injured in the attack. A 14-year-old boy died from his serious injuries. Three victims of the attack are in the intensive care unit, one is in a regular ward, and one is being treated as an outpatient.
DON'T MISS IT
On Saturday evening, police searched the attacker's apartment with sniffer dogs.
"There were Islamic State flags hanging on the walls. No weapons were found, mobile phones were seized," said Carinthia police director Mihaela Kolvajs.
"This is an Islamist attack linked to the Islamic State," Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (OVP) told reporters in the city in the Carinthian province on Sunday.
The Syrian has a residence permit for Austria and was apparently not known to the police until now. The minister said the 23-year-old Syrian had apparently become radicalized online.
Eyewitness, also Syrian - prevented worse
A 42-year-old food delivery man, also of Syrian origin, was one of the eyewitnesses to the attack. He hit the attacker with his car, probably preventing him from doing worse, said police spokesman Rainer Dionizio.
"This allowed us to arrest him immediately," he added.
In the chaos, other eyewitnesses initially thought the food delivery man was the attacker and began hitting his car, he told the Kleine Zeitung.
"Of course I worry now that people will think badly of us, but we are not like that," the man said, speaking of his compatriots from Syria.
Demands for stricter measures and policies
Villach Mayor Günther Albel (SPO) said: "This act hit Villach right in the heart. This city has lost its innocence."
Minister Karner also said that "mass checks without cause are now needed, so that the police and authorities can do what is our responsibility - to ensure security in this country. There are special target groups, namely asylum seekers of Syrian or Afghan origin."
"We must act decisively in the area of asylum and must no longer import the situation that is now in Villach," said FPO leader Herbert Kickl.
The right-wing populist called the incident a "great failure of the system" and re-promoted his restrictive migration policy.
"We must do everything in our political power to prevent such horrific crimes from happening again in the future," said Christian Stocker, leader of the ruling conservative OVP.
The attack comes at a time of political upheaval in Austria. In parliamentary elections last September, the right-wing FPO emerged as the largest party by votes. Talks between the FPO and the OVP to form a coalition government collapsed in mid-week.
Bonus video:
