Assassin as "victim"

Investigation into the hero of Villach only a formality

In Villach city center, a 42-year-old Syrian became a hero, and a 23-year-old Syrian became a murderer...(Bild: Jennifer Kapellari)

What was joked about on social media is now reality. Following the horrific Islamist attack in Villach, the courageous food delivery man who hit the gunman with his car to stop him is being investigated...

The public prosecutor's office in Klagenfurt is investigating the Syrian food delivery man who presumably saved the lives of several people on February 15 on suspicion of assault. After a 23-year-old Syrian randomly attacked passers-by with a knife, also killing a 14-year-old, the "Hero of Villach" - as he is known - hit him with his car. Shortly afterwards, the radicalized attacker was arrested.

"It's a formality"
But now the courageous family man is not only facing hate messages and threats, he is also a defendant in a trial: "We have to do this - it's a formality," says Markus Kitz, spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Klagenfurt. "I assume that the case will be dismissed."

Ironically, the assassin who wanted to kill as many people as possible - as he himself stated - is listed as a victim in the act: "He also has the right to a clean trial in Austria," said Kitz.