Austrian authorities have confirmed that the 23-year-old man who killed a teenager and injured five others in Villach on Saturday acted with Islamist motives.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, who visited the scene on Sunday, described the attack as “an Islamist assault with links to ISIS.”
During a search of the attacker’s apartment, police discovered ISIS flags on the walls and other “clear signs of radical Islamist ideology,” though no weapons were found. Authorities have confiscated electronic devices and are analyzing them for further evidence.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the attacker radicalized quickly after consuming extremist propaganda. While law enforcement is checking for possible accomplices, they currently believe he acted alone. He had not been previously known to the police.
Minister Karner stressed the need for stronger preventive measures, stating that individuals like this should be “imprisoned and deported.” He also proposed exploring additional security measures, including mass screenings of high-risk groups such as asylum seekers, even without specific suspicion.
Karner and regional governor Peter Kaiser also expressed gratitude to a 42-year-old Syrian delivery worker who intervened and stopped the attacker.
