Suspect In Fatal Stabbing In Southern Austria Had ‘Islamic Terror Motive,’ Officials Say- wna24

Vienna: Austrian authorities on the stabbing of five passersby in southern Austria that left a 14-year-old boy dead on Saturday said that, the act was carried out by a man suspect with possible connections to the Islamic State group who appeared to have acted alone.

 The Suspect, who is a 23-year-old Syrian, was arrested after the attack in the southern city of Villach on Saturday. Among the 5 injured, two of them have serious injuries.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told the reporters on Sunday, “This is an Islamist attack with an IS connection by an attacker who radicalized himself within a very short time via the internet online,”

As attention turned to migration and asylum-seekers, Karner said that a mass screening without cause will be necessary, as the attacker had not been previously noticeable.

Although Karner did not provide further details, Austria’s far-right leader Herbert Kickl, whose party won a national election four months ago, called for a “rigorous crackdown on asylum” following the attack.

The suspect was detained in the city of Villach, where the attack took place, police said. He is a Syrian national with legal residence in Austria, they said.

The victims were all men. Two were seriously injured and two sustained minor injuries, police said.

Police spokesperson Rainer Dionisio said a motive was not immediately known. He added that police were investigating the attacker’s personal background. “We have to wait until we get secure information,” he said.

State Gov. Peter Kaiser thanked a 42-year-old man, also a Syrian working for a food delivery company who drove toward the suspect and helped prevent the situation from getting worse. “This shows how closely terrorist evil but also human good can be united in one and the same nationality.”

The mayor of Villach, Günther Albel, said the attack was a “stab in the heart of the city.”

According to state police director Michaela Kohlweiß, police searched the suspect’s apartment with sniffer dogs and found IS flags on the walls.

No weapons or dangerous objects were found, she added but police seized mobile telephones.

Police were investigating whether the suspect had any accomplices.

The attacker used a folding knife, Kohlweiß said. Those wounded include two 15-year-old boys, a 28-year-old man, a 32-year-old man, and a 36-year-old man. Four of them are receiving hospital treatment and one is being treated for minor injuries.