Following the terrorist attack in Villach, where on Saturday a 23-year-old Syrian killed a 14-year-old and seriously injured five people, the public prosecutor's office has requested pre-trial detention for the perpetrator.

After Terrorist Attack in Villach: Pre-Trial Detention Requested for 23-Year-Old

The man will be transferred from Villach to the Klagenfurt prison at noon, according to the authorities upon APA request. Three seriously injured individuals are still being treated in the intensive care unit, their condition is stable, reported the hospital operator Kabeg.

The 23-year-old randomly stabbed passersby with a knife in downtown Villach on Saturday afternoon. A courageous food delivery driver - who, like the perpetrator, is also from Syria - hit the perpetrator with his car, causing him to drop the knife and be apprehended. "I didn't have time to think, I saw he had a knife and knew what was happening," the 42-year-old told the media. However, his intervention was misunderstood in the first few seconds - passersby believed he was also an attacker and hit his car.

Knife Purchased Three Days Before Attack

Meanwhile, more and more details are coming to light. The 23-year-old apparently radicalized over the internet within a few weeks. In his apartment, he had ISIS flags on the wall. The weapon used, a folding knife with a ten-centimeter blade, was purchased just three days before the attack, reported the "Salzburger Nachrichten".

The investigators reaffirmed on Monday that the suspect had not previously been criminally prosecuted in either Austria or Germany and was therefore not known to the police. However, in 2024, he served a substitute prison sentence of four days in Germany - where he has family ties according to information from the Ministry of the Interior. The reason was an unpaid fine imposed under administrative law following a forgery of documents in 2021. Administrative penalties do not lead to a police record.

The 23-year-old came to Austria in 2020. He justified his asylum application with the fear that he would be conscripted into the military in his Syrian homeland and then have to commit war crimes, APA learned.

Considerations for a Citizen's Militia

On Sunday, hundreds of people lit candles and mourned at the main square in Villach. Meanwhile, emotions were running high. The "Kleine Zeitung" reports considerations that a citizen's militia should be established in Villach. The police are not in favor of this idea: "We rely on the cooperation of the public and welcome any positive form of collaboration. But a citizen's militia would be counterproductive; security is ensured by the police," said police spokesman Rainer Dionisio. They do not support the establishment of a citizen's militia "in any way."

Memorial Rally in Klagenfurt

Meanwhile, a memorial rally is planned for Monday evening at the Neuer Platz in Klagenfurt. "Let us all send a signal together to the Draustadt! We must never let such criminals take away our solidarity. For our open society and against radical Islamic terror," wrote the initiator, Deputy Mayor Ronald Rabitsch (SPÖ), on Facebook.

(APA/Red)

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