Memorials and vigils continue in Villach, Carinthia, after a knife attack over the weekend that left a 14-year-old boy dead and five others injured. Authorities say the attack was Islamist-motivated and are now considering whether upcoming carnival events in the city should go ahead.
Austria is in the midst of Fasching, the country’s traditional late-winter festival, marked by masked balls and street parades. Carinthia’s largest carnival procession is due to take place on 1 March.
The suspect, a 23-year-old Syrian national, is set to be transferred to Klagenfurt prison, in the capital of Carinthia.
Three of the injured remain in intensive care, though their condition is described as stable.
The Attack
The suspect began stabbing people at random in Villach’s busy city centre on Saturday afternoon before being stopped by a food delivery driver. The driver, a 42-year-old Syrian man, ran him over with his car, causing him to drop the knife and allowing police to arrest him.
“I didn’t have time to think – I saw he had a knife and knew what was happening,” the driver told local media.
Read more: Teenager Killed and Five Injured in Knife Attack in Villach
Radicalisation and Weapon Purchase
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the attacker, who was granted asylum in Austria in 2020, was radicalised within weeks after following an Islamist influencer on TikTok.
Islamic State (IS) flags were found in his flat, and reports suggest he bought the knife – a folding blade with a 10cm edge – just three days before the attack.
