On 15 February 2025, a mass stabbing occurred in Villach, Austria. A 23-year-old Syrian allegedly carried out a series of random stabbings against six pedestrians. The attack resulted in the death of a 14-year-old boy and injuries to five other individuals.
The attack took place at 15:33 local time near the historic city center of Villach, in southern Austria, when the suspect began randomly attacking pedestrians with a knife.[1][2] The attack was partially interrupted by the intervention of a Syrian food delivery worker who, upon witnessing the stabbings from his vehicle, drove toward the suspect in an attempt to prevent further violence. This intervention was later credited by police spokesperson Rainer Dionisio as helping to limit the scope of the attack.[3][4]
A memorial set up near the scene
The attack resulted in the death of a 14-year-old boy and the wounding of five other people,[3] aged 15 to 36,[5] of which three are currently still treated in intensive care.[6] A man from Turkey was among the injured.[7]
Suspect
Following the attack authorities detained 23-year-old Syrian Ahmad G. while maintaining an active investigation into the possibility of additional suspects. According to witnesses and responding officers, the suspect shouted "Allahu akbar" and showed the Tawhid finger.[8] In the immediate aftermath, police spokesperson Rainer Dionisio, speaking to Austria's public broadcaster ORF, indicated that investigators had not yet determined if the suspect's motive was Islamic extremism or whether the suspect had acted alone, leading to continued searches for potential accomplices.[3]
The suspect held legal residency status in Austria at the time of the attack.[3][9] A day after the attack at a conference in Villach, the interior minister Gerhard Karner said that the suspect was influenced by an Islamic extremist motive and was linked to the Islamic State after being radicalised online and that an Islamic State flag was found in his apartment.[10][11] Police later recovered a recording of the suspect swearing an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State.[11]
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Islamic State 
