Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 16, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
Add as preferred source on Google
A Syrian suspect in Austria carried out a deadly stabbing in Villach, pledging allegiance to Islamic State, sparking political debate.
By Borut Zivulovic
VILLACH, Austria (Reuters) - The Syrian asylum seeker suspected of carrying out a deadly stabbing rampage in the Austrian town of Villach had sworn allegiance to Islamic State and was radicalised online, authorities said on Sunday.
A 14-year-old boy was killed in Saturday afternoon's attack in the centre of Villach and five other people were wounded, three of whom are in intensive care, police said.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told a press conference in Villach that the 23-year-old Syrian man, who was arrested seven minutes after the first call to the police, had been rapidly radicalised on the internet and that the Islamic State (IS) flag had been found in his apartment.
"There's compassion, there's sadness, but in these moments there's also understandably often anger and rage," Karner, a conservative, told reporters. "Anger at an Islamist attacker who randomly stabbed innocent people here in this town."
Karner also said the authorities should have greater powers to screen asylum seekers and there would have to be "mass checks without cause in many areas" since the suspect had not attracted the authorities' attention.
Police said the man, who is being charged with murder and attempted murder, had recorded himself swearing an oath of allegiance to IS.
More harm would have been done had it not been for another Syrian, a food delivery man, who saw the attacker and drove into him with his vehicle to stop him, authorities said.
The bloodshed in Villach followed the thwarting of a plot in August to carry out a suicide attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna by a teenager who had also sworn loyalty to IS.
Saturday's rampage also came just days after an attack on Thursday in Munich in neighbouring Germany by an Afghan national who drove his car into a crowd, injuring dozens of people, two of whom later died.
It took place during an extended period of political tension in Austria, where the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) - which came first in September's parliamentary election - said last week it was unable to form a coalition government.
Centrist parties are now discussing whether they could try to form a government while the president considers options including moving the country towards a snap election.
Across the border in Germany, recent immigration from Muslim countries and the integration of asylum seekers has become a charged political issue heading into a snap election on Feb. 23.
Railing against illegal immigration and pledging to increase deportations to countries such as Syria and Afghanistan, to which it is currently illegal to deport people, are central to the FPO's platform. The party quickly seized on the Villach attack.
"No migrant would be able to commit murder or any other crime in our country if they were not in Austria in the first place," FPO leader Herbert Kickl said in a statement.
Officials from other parties condemned the attack while calling for the country to remain united.
"The Islamist perpetrator will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Because hatred, intolerance and extremism have no place in our open, pluralistic society," conservative Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, whose government is serving in a caretaker capacity, said on social media platform X.
(Reporting by Borut Zivulovic and Francois Murphy; Additional reporting by Paul Arnold and Dave Graham; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Helen Popper)
A 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker carried out a stabbing rampage in Villach, resulting in the death of a 14-year-old boy and injuries to five others.
The suspect had sworn allegiance to Islamic State and recorded himself doing so, indicating his radicalization.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner called for greater powers to screen asylum seekers and mentioned the need for mass checks in many areas.
The attack intensified political tensions in Austria, particularly regarding immigration policies and the far-right Freedom Party's stance on asylum seekers.
Another Syrian, a food delivery man, intervened by driving into the attacker with his vehicle, preventing further harm.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
