Police officer attacked

Neck narrowly missed: video shows knife attack

(Bild: krone.at)

The devious knife attack on a police officer in Vienna-Favoriten is still shocking the day after. The "Krone" has now been leaked footage of the scene - the video (above) is not for the faint-hearted.

The suspected perpetrator appears from the side behind an officer who is carrying out a check. Suddenly, the dark-haired man - according to the "Krone" newspaper, he is a 41-year-old Jordanian - lunges and stabs the officer with full force.

The man approached the officer from behind and suddenly stabbed him.

(Bild: krone.at)

The young police officer survived the attack slightly injured. However, as the footage suggests, he was probably incredibly lucky - the attacker appears to have been aiming for the officer's neck. He missed by a few centimetres and the blade bounced off the stab protection vest.

The 24-year-old police officer also reacted with lightning speed and immediately moved away from the aggressor. He was then struck down with a stun gun - krone.at reported.

Another video shows the suspect being overpowered:

"He didn't care if the policeman died"
As has since become known, the Jordanian probably wanted to commit "suicide by cop", i.e. have himself killed by the police - at least that's what he said in his first interrogation. He had private problems. "He didn't care if the police officer died," said Markus Dittrich, spokesman for the Vienna police. The suspect is now being investigated for attempted murder.

Keyword: protective vest

"Ballistic stab protection gilets" are now part of the basic police equipment. Their procurement was already initiated in 2016 under Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka, and full equipping was completed at the end of 2021 under Karl Nehammer.

The case represents another low point in the Favoriten hotspot and is causing deep shock not only in police circles. "I would like to thank all the police officers who were involved in this life-threatening operation and handled it successfully in a professional manner. I wish the injured employee a speedy recovery," Interior Minister Gerhard Karner also told the "Krone" newspaper.

Incidentally, the reason for the identity check at Keplerplatz was that police officers had previously been pelted with glass bottles. A weapons ban zone had been set up in the area just a few weeks ago.