One dead, 5 injured

Major operation in Villach: Stabbing suspected

The stabbing ended fatally for a 14-year-old from Villach, five other victims were seriously injured.(Bild: DOKU-NÖ)

A horrific act in Villach led to a large-scale police operation on Saturday afternoon. A Syrian man laughingly and indiscriminately stabbed passers-by - killing one teenager and injuring five others. An Islamist motive is being investigated. The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) is looking for witnesses.

"This is an act that is extraordinary. Something like this is unprecedented in Carinthia," says Rainer Dionisio, Head of Public Relations LPD Carinthia, expressing his shock: Just a few days after the car attack in Munich, this time horror scenes are playing out in the middle of Austria. On Saturday afternoon, panic broke out in Villach, a town of 65,000 inhabitants in Carinthia. A young Syrian war refugee is said to have suddenly and apparently indiscriminately attacked passers-by outside a pub.

The terrible result: a 14-year-old succumbs to serious stab wounds. The teenager practically bled to death on the spot. Five other men were also injured, some of them seriously.

This is where the crime happened.(Bild: Klaus Loibnegger)

The bloodstains are clearly visible.(Bild: Klaus Loibnegger)

Courageous food delivery driver hits the perpetrator of the crime
The elite Cobra police unit is alerted. But things could have been even worse if a courageous eyewitness, himself a Syrian, had not intervened. The food delivery driver hits the suspect with his car: "He was heading towards the city center, there were children on the street. I couldn't let that happen. I have children of my own!"

Meanwhile, police and ambulance vehicles race to the scene. What initially looks like a degenerate argument could actually have been a planned act of terrorism. Shocked eyewitnesses describe how the 23-year-old stabbed him "laughing". "As things stand at the moment, it's a good thing that the witness hit the perpetrator," says Dionisio. 

The perpetrator is said to have shouted "Allahu Akbar". The recognized Syrian asylum seeker - who has so far been inconspicuous to the police - also showed the raised index finger, also notorious as an IS gesture, in circulating pictures. Whether there is an Islamist motive behind the knife terror is now the subject of intensive investigations, including by the local state security service. The suspect's contacts are being closely scrutinized. A manhunt is currently underway throughout Carinthia under the direction of the State Office for State Protection and the State Office of Criminal Investigation.

BMI launches appeal for witnesses
The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) activated an upload platform for videos and photos on Saturday evening. Private individuals can upload observations, videos or photos of the crime or its surroundings here. Information can also be submitted to any police station. The Federal Ministry of the Interior has also launched an appeal: "Please do not publish any photos or videos of the incident on social networks - this protects ongoing investigations, the victims and the emergency services."

Meanwhile, ÖVP Interior Minister Gerhard Karner wants to see the scene of the crime in Carinthia for himself. He is expected in Villach around Sunday morning.