Villach: A Syrian asylum seeker suspected of carrying out a deadly stabbing attack in the Austrian town of Villach had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and was radicalized online, authorities said on Sunday.
The attack, which occurred on Saturday afternoon in the town center, left a 14-year-old boy dead and five others wounded, three of whom remain in intensive care, according to police.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said at a press conference in Villach that the 23-year-old suspect, who was arrested within seven minutes of the first emergency call, had been rapidly radicalized on the internet. Authorities also found an IS flag in his apartment.
“There is sadness and sympathy for the victims,” Karner said. “But in these moments, there is also understandably often anger and rage. Anger at an Islamist attacker who randomly stabbed innocent people here in this town.”
Karner called for stricter screening of asylum seekers, advocating for “mass checks without cause in many areas” as the suspect had not previously drawn the attention of authorities.
A 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker suspected of carrying out a stabbing rampage in Villach, Austria swore allegiance to Islamic State, authorities said https://t.co/JWdCiFCQAc pic.twitter.com/dCltYHr6EH
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 16, 2025
Bystander Stopped the Attacker
Police stated that the suspect, now facing charges of murder and attempted murder, had recorded himself swearing an oath to IS before the attack. Officials said more harm was likely prevented by another Syrian—a food delivery driver—who witnessed the rampage and struck the attacker with his vehicle to stop him.
IS has not claimed responsibility for the attack. However, SITE Intelligence reported that the media wing of IS’s Afghan branch, Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), recently circulated a call for lone-wolf attacks in the U.S. and Europe following a New Year’s Eve attack in New Orleans.
The Villach attack comes months after Austrian authorities thwarted a plot in August involving a teenager who planned to carry out a suicide bombing at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna after pledging loyalty to IS.
Rising Political Tensions
Some residents of Villach, a town of approximately 65,000 people on the River Drava, expressed shock over the attack. “Until now, I felt secure, but it’s another feeling now,” said Siegfried, a local resident. “I’m not so sure as before.”
The attack also follows an incident on Thursday in Munich, Germany, where an Afghan national drove his car into a crowd, injuring dozens, two of whom later died.
The incident comes amid heightened political tensions in Austria. The far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which won the most votes in September’s parliamentary election, recently announced its inability to form a coalition government. Centrist parties are now exploring options to govern, while the Austrian president weighs the possibility of calling a snap election.
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Immigration from predominantly Muslim countries and the integration of asylum seekers have become polarizing issues in Germany as well, with the country set for a snap election on February 23.
The FPO, which has made curbing illegal immigration and increasing deportations—including to Syria and Afghanistan—a central part of its platform, seized on the Villach attack.
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“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.
Meanwhile, officials from other parties condemned the attack while calling for unity.
“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 said on social media platform X.
