A 14-year-old boy has been killed and four other people injured in a knife attack in southern Austria on Saturday, police said, adding they have arrested a 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker.
“A man randomly attacked passersby with a knife,” police spokesman Rainer Dionisio told AFP of the incident in the city of Villach.
“One victim, a 14-year-old boy, died,” he added.
Two other men suffered serious injuries, while another two men were lightly injured, Dionisio added.
The incident occurred on Saturday, shortly before 4:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT), in the city center of Carinthia province.
According to Dionisio, a food delivery rider witnessed the attack and rammed his car into the assailant, who was lightly hurt and apprehended “right after the attack.”
According to early information, the arrested individual is a Syrian asylum seeker with a valid residency permit and no criminal background.
The youngest victim was 14 years old, while the oldest was 32 years old, he said.
The attack came just two days after a car-ramming attack in nearby Munich, Germany.
A two-year-old girl and her mother died Saturday from injuries sustained in the attack, which also injured 37 others.
On Thursday, a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker was arrested on suspicion of purposefully ramming his automobile into a trade union demonstration.
Police believe he may have had Islamist extremist reasons for the crime.
