A 14-year-old boy has died after a man began randomly stabbing people in Villach, Austria.
The 23-year-old man stabbed four others – all men – just before 4pm near the Draubrücke bridge.
The bridge over the river Drava is only metres from Villach Central Station to the north and the city’s main square, Hauptplatz, to the south.
Two were seriously injured while two others sustained minor injuries, according to preliminary information.
The suspect, a Syrian national who lived legally in Villach, has been arrested. Reports claim he was ‘smiling’ during his arrest.
He was not known previously to police.
A Syrian delivery driver, 42, witnessed the incident from his car.
He reportedly drove into the knifeman, causing him to fall to the ground, Austrian tabloid Heute reported.
‘This meant that we were able to arrest him immediately,’ police spokesperson Rainer Dionisio said.
Another witness told the news outlet 5 Minuten that she saw the moment the driver’s car collided with the suspect, sending him ‘flying over the hood’.
The anonymous woman said she earlier heard ‘screams’ before seeing two wounded people near the bridge.
‘What is particularly shocking is that the young man just stabbed randomly, or at least that’s how it looked,’ she added.
Dionisio told public broadcaster ORF it wasn’t clear whether the suspect acted on his own. Officers are searching for potential further suspects.
Carinthia state governor Peter Kaiser said on X: ‘The unbelievable atrocity in Villach must have the harshest consequences! Anyone who lives in Carinthia, in Austria, must respect the law.
‘Anyone who violates this must face the harshest consequences – they must be put on trial, imprisoned and deported.’
In a joint statement, the city council including Mayor Günther Albel said: ‘Today in Villach we are confronted with the worst that could have happened.
‘An unbelievable act has hit Villach right in the heart. We are shaken, shocked and deeply affected. Our thoughts and deep sympathy go out to the victims, the injured and their families.’
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