Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the suspect had ties to the Islamic State group and radicalized himself online within a very short time. The attacker was arrested after the attack in Villach on Saturday.
Austrian officials have revealed that the man who stabbed six people in broad daylight, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring five others, was driven by “Islamic terrorism.”
The suspect, a 23-year-old Syrian man, was apprehended following the attack in the southern city of Villach on Saturday. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner expressed his fury on Sunday over an “anger about an Islamist attacker who indiscriminately stabbed innocent people here in this city.”
Karner informed reporters in Villach that the assailant had connections to the Islamic State group and had radicalised himself online in a very short period. State governor Peter Kaiser praised 42-year-old Syrian Alaaeddin Alhalabi, employed by a food delivery company, who drove towards the suspect, preventing the situation from escalating further, saying: “This shows how closely terrorist evil but also human good can be united in one and the same nationality.”
This incident marks the second fatal jihadi attack in Austria in recent years. In November 2020, a man who had previously tried to join the Islamic State group launched a rampage in Vienna, armed with an automatic rifle and a fake explosive vest, killing four people before being fatally shot by police. Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen described the attack as “horrific.
“No words can undo the suffering, the horror, the fear. My thoughts are with the family of the deceased victim and the injured,” he posted on X. The Free Syrian Community of Austria issued a statement on Facebook distancing itself from the attack and expressing its deepest condolences to the victims’ families. .
“We all had to flee Syria, our home country, because we were no longer safe there — no one left their country voluntarily. We are grateful to have found asylum and protection in Austria,” the association said. “Finally, we would like to emphasize: Anyone who causes strife and disturbs the peace of society does not represent the Syrians who have sought and received protection here,” the statement concluded.
Villach, a popular tourist destination near the borders of Italy and Slovenia, is known for its laid-back atmosphere, which blends Mediterranean and Alpine traditions. The city hosts annual carnival processions in March, and an event on Saturday was canceled in the wake of the attack.
The Austrian Ministry of Interior activated a platform for witnesses to upload videos or photos related to the attack. Local authorities said a crisis response team would be available to support pupils when schools open on Monday.
Far-right leader Herbert Kickl wrote on X that he was “appalled by the horrific act in Villach” and called for a rigorous crackdown on asylum. “At the same time, I am angry — angry at those politicians who have allowed stabbings, rapes, gang wars and other capital crimes to become the order of the day in Austria. This is a first-class failure of the system, for which a young man in Villach has now had to pay with his life,” Kickl said.
“From Austria to the EU — the wrong rules are in force everywhere. Nobody is allowed to challenge them, everything is declared sacrosanct,” he added, noting that his party had proposed what he considers necessary changes to immigration laws in their election manifesto.
Conservative party leader Christian Stocker remarked on X that the perpetrator “must be brought to justice and be punished with the full force of the law. He said: “We all want to live in a safe Austria, which means political measures must be implemented to prevent such dreadful acts in the future.” Social Democrats’ head Andreas Babler expressed, “Crimes like this one simply should not happen in our society.”