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from https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-asylum-seeker-stabs-passersby-in-austria-killing-teen-injuring-5/

Syrian asylum seeker stabs passersby in Austria, killing teen, injuring 5 Police say attack was seemingly random, still working to determine
23-year-old attacker’s motive, searching for possible additional suspects
By STEPHANIE LICHTENSTEIN
Today, 6:03 am
4
Syrian national Ahmad G, who allegedly stabbed six passersby in southern Austria on Saturday, killing a 14-year-old and injuring five others. (X,
used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
Syrian national Ahmad G, who allegedly stabbed six passersby in southern Austria on Saturday, killing a 14-year-old and injuring five others. (X,
used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
VIENNA (AP) — A 23-year-old man stabbed six passersby in southern
Austria on Saturday, killing a 14-year-old and injuring five others, in
what police said was a random attack.

The suspect, named as Ahmad G., 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.

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.

A 42-year-old man, described by Austrian media as a Syrian food delivery
driver witnessed the incident from his car, police said. He drove toward
the suspect and prevented him from harming more people, Dionisio told Austria’s public broadcaster ORF.

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The victims were all men, with two seriously injured and two sustaining
minor injuries, police said. Later on Saturday, police said a fifth
person, also a man, was injured in the attack.

A pedestrian walk past candles at the site of a stabbing attack in
Villach, Austria, February 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Peter Kaiser, the governor of the Austrian province of Carinthia,
expressed his condolences to the family of the 14-year-old victim.

“This outrageous atrocity must be met with harsh consequences. I have
always said with clarity and unambiguously: Those who live in Carinthia,
in Austria, have to respect the law and adjust to our rules and values.”

A person lights a candle at the site of a stabbing attack in Villach,
Austria, February 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Far-right leader Herbert Kickl said on the X social media platform that
he is “appalled by the horrific act in Villach” and wished the family of the 14-year-old victim who was killed in the attack “much strength.”

“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 said, adding that his party had outlined what he viewed as necessary
changes to immigration laws in his party’s election platform.

“We need a rigorous crackdown on asylum and must not continue to import conditions like those in Villach.”

Conservative party leader Christian Stocker said on X that the attacker
“must be brought to justice and be punished with the full force of the law.”

“We all want to live in a safe Austria, adding that this means political measures need to be taken to “avoid such acts of horror in the future,”
he said.

The leader of the Social Democrats, Andreas Babler, said on X that “the
full force of the law” must be used. “Crimes like this one simply should not happen in our society.”

Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner was expected in Villach on
Sunday morning, according to Austria’s public broadcaster ORF.

On Sunday, authorities planned to establish a zone in the city center
for those who want to grieve.

Police said it wasn’t clear whether the suspect acted alone and
continued to search for potential additional suspects. It wasn’t
immediately known whether there was any connection between the attacker
and the victims.

According to the Interior Ministry, 24,941 foreigners applied for asylum
in Austria in 2024. The largest group of applicants was from Syria,
followed by Afghanistan.

Over the past two years, the number of asylum seekers has decreased significantly. In 2022, applications peaked at over 100,000, while approximately 59,000 individuals sought asylum in 2023.


The chairman of Austria’s Freedom Party Herbert Kickl (R), and other MPs applaud after the election of Walter Rosenkranz (front L), MP of
Austria’s Freedom Party, as new parliament president in the Austrian Parliament in Vienna, October 24, 2024. (Alex HALADA / AFP)
Several European countries, among them Austria, said in December they
are suspending decisions on asylum claims by Syrian nationals because of
the unclear political situation in their homeland following the fall of
Bashar Assad.

The issue of migration has taken center stage in many European
countries, with far-right parties making inroads in elections.

In Austria, migration was a prominent topic leading up to last year’s election, which resulted in the far-right Freedom Party securing its
first national election victory since World War II.

On Saturday, police in neighboring Germany said a 2-year-old girl and
her mother died two days after being injured in a car-ramming attack
during a labor union demonstration in Munich. It marked the fifth attack involving immigrants in Germany over the past nine months, with
migration becoming a significant issue ahead of upcoming elections on
February 23.

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