Perpetrator known to the police

Attempted murder in front of restaurant: emergency surgery after liver stabbing

Witnesses had observed the abdominal stabbing outside the shisha bar and alerted the police

(Bild: Dostal Harald)

A 21-year-old Afghan-born man is said to have stabbed a Slovakian opponent (34) in front of a bar on Linzer Landstraße on Wednesday. The suspect fled the scene but was caught a short time later. Despite his young age, he has several previous convictions and initially refused to make any statement about the crime or motive.

Both opponents are said to have been in the "Escobar" shisha lounge before the crime. After closing time on Wednesday morning, a wild argument is said to have broken out in front of the bar. The argument is said to have escalated completely at around 4am.

An Afghan-born man (21), who lives in Linz and now also has Austrian citizenship, apparently suddenly pulled out a 20-centimeter-long folding knife. He is said to have rammed it into the stomach of a 34-year-old Slovak. The victim was stabbed in the liver and fell to the ground with life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses provided crucial information
The suspect, who had pulled the stabbing weapon out of the Slovak's body, fled the scene of the crime. Fortunately, there were witnesses who had seen the abdominal stabbing. They raised the alarm and were able to give a good description of the man. Thanks to this information, the 21-year-old was arrested shortly afterwards in Südtirolerstraße. Police officers also seized the murder weapon.

The victim was taken to the Kepler University Hospital in Linz, where doctors performed emergency surgery to save his life. The 34-year-old has not yet been questioned about the circumstances of the crime.

Serving several prison sentences
The suspect is refusing to make any statements for the time being. He is known to the police several times, has been living in Austria for twelve years and has already spent more than half of this time in custody. He was transferred from the police detention center to Linz prison. He is being investigated for attempted murder and an application for pre-trial detention has been made.