Austria: 14-year-old killed in knife attack in Villach

Vienna [Austria], February 16 (ANI): A 23-year-old man allegedly stabbed five passersby in southern Austria's Villach on Saturday, leaving a 14-year-old dead and four others injured, the police said, CNN reported.
Following the incident, the suspect was detained in the city of Villach, police said. The suspect was a Syrian national with legal residence in Austria, they said.
As reported by CNN, the 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 who works for a food delivery company witnessed the incident from his car, police said.
As reported by CNN, the victims were all men, with two seriously injured and two sustaining minor injuries, police said.
The governor of the Austrian province of Carinthia, Peter Kaiser, 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."
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.
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.
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.
In a sharp reaction, 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. (ANI)