Attack in Villach

Karner announces mass checks without cause

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (front) in Villach(Bild: APA/Gerd Eggenberger)

Following the Islamist-motivated knife attack on several passers-by in Villach, there have been calls for consequences. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) has called for "mass checks without cause" of asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Syria.

On Sunday, he thanked the emergency services and expressed his sympathy to the victims' families. Many other politicians have also responded. "No words can undo the suffering, the horror and the fear. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased victim and the injured," wrote Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on Platform X.

FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl chose harsher words. "How much longer will our population be taken for fools? I can no longer listen to this talk from the single party about the 'full force of the law'," the politician wrote on Facebook on Sunday. The fact that a murderer should face the full force of the law is a matter of course for every normal person and doesn't even need to be mentioned.

Here you can see the posts by Herbert Kickl and Werner Kogler.

Kogler and Schallenberg in favor of "full force of the law"
One person calling for this, for example, is interim chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP). Hate, intolerance and extremism have "no place in our open, pluralistic society". He wished all those injured a speedy and full recovery.

Green Party leader Werner Kogler wrote on X: "Even if the exact background is still unclear, one thing is certain: such attacks on our peaceful coexistence must have no place in our society."

A press conference was held on Sunday.(Bild: Klaus Loibnegger)

Grief and horror prevail after the attack.(Bild: APA/GERD EGGENBERGER / APA / picturedesk.com)

NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger said that "our values and our way of life" were not negotiable. "As politicians and as a society, it is our task to ensure good coexistence and guarantee the safety of all". "The bloodbath in Villach has an enormous political dimension. This brutal knife attack shows once again that we have to reckon with such acts anytime and anywhere due to the misguided asylum and migration policy," said Styrian FPÖ parliamentary group leader Marco Triller, expressing little optimism.

Carinthia's governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) said on Sunday that many things need to be reconsidered. As reported, a 23-year-old Syrian, who was recognized as a refugee, attacked passers-by in Villach with a knife on Saturday. A 14-year-old boy was killed and five other people were injured.