A 23-year-old man stabbed five passers-by yesterday in the center of the Austrian town of Villach, Carinthia province, BTA reported.
According to police data, a 14-year-old youth died and four people were injured.
The crime was committed at around 4 p.m. (5 p.m. Bulgarian time) near the central square.
Last night, police spokesman Rainer Dionisio said in an interview with provincial radio and television that the man indiscriminately attacked several passers-by with a knife. A total of four men were injured in the attack, two of whom are in serious condition. According to Dionisio, the victims are Austrians. All are hospitalized and receiving intensive medical care, the spokesman said. It is not yet clear whether there was a connection between the perpetrator and the victims.
A witness, a 42-year-old driver for a food delivery company, observed the crime directly from his car. According to Dionisio, he directed his car at the suspect, thus possibly preventing further victims. The man was unharmed.
A search was immediately launched, in which a police helicopter also joined in.
It is not yet clear whether the 23-year-old Syrian is the only perpetrator. The search for possible accomplices continues. The first witnesses have also been questioned.
According to police data, the suspected perpetrator - a Syrian citizen with a residence permit - was arrested shortly afterwards. According to initial information, he had not yet been registered with the police.
The State Office for National Security and Combating Extremism took over the investigation together with the State Criminal Investigation Office. According to Dionisio, who has worked in the police press service for 20 years, there has never been a crime like this in Carinthia before.