Pre-trial detention requested

After terror in Villach: Carnival now on the brink

The Syrian laughed when he was arrested.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA, SVS News Agency)

The shock in Villach runs deep: following the terrorist attack, the public prosecutor's office has requested pre-trial detention for the perpetrator. All four seriously injured victims are now out of danger. A first decision is made at the Villach carnival. The church and politicians commemorate the victims of the knife attack in Villach on Tuesday evening. 

Three seriously injured people are still being treated in intensive care, their condition is stable, the hospital operator Kabeg announced. "We have five injured, four of them seriously. As things stand, all of them are now out of danger," explained Markus Kitz, spokesman for the public prosecutor's office. According to the public prosecutor's office in Klagenfurt, one boy was stabbed in the stomach with possible permanent consequences, while a 32-year-old was stabbed in the heart. The Syrian attacker is believed to have deliberately stabbed the sensitive areas of the body.

On Monday, the assassin is to be transferred to the Klagenfurt prison, where a decision must be made within 48 hours on whether to impose the requested pre-trial detention. According to court spokesman Christian Liebhauser-Karl, a mandatory hearing is to be held by the detention and legal protection judge by Wednesday evening, at which point the perpetrator will be entitled to defense counsel at the latest. If the 23-year-old is unable to raise the funds for this, he must be provided with a legal aid lawyer as a public defender; this has not yet been done.

Weapon bought three days before the crime
Meanwhile, more and more details about the assassin are coming to light. As reported, the 23-year-old radicalized himself via the internet. According to the current state of the investigation, the man is considered a lone perpetrator. His intention was to kill "men of military age", as he stated after his arrest. There are currently no indications of possible accomplices. When asked why he had only attacked men, the 23-year-old is said to have explained in his interrogation that IS forbids violence against women and old people. He had adhered to this.

According to Kitz, the perpetrator was very forthcoming during the first interrogation. He said in Arabic that he had become radicalized within a few weeks. TikTok videos had made him "practically see himself as part of IS". He had IS flags on the wall in his apartment. He had only bought the murder weapon, a folding knife with a ten-centimeter blade, three days before the crime.

He was very forthcoming during the first interrogation and told us - in Arabic - that he had radicalized himself within three months. TikTok videos had led him to see himself practically as part of IS.

Staatsanwaltschaftssprecher Markus Kitz äußerte sich zum Täter

An initial, superficial inspection of his cell phone revealed propaganda material from the terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS). The Syrian had also recorded a video with a "declaration of membership" to IS and saved it on his device, but had not sent it. His plan was to stab people until he was shot dead by the police. Afterwards - according to his plan - the police were to forward the video. Online contacts to other IS supporters or relevant chat groups were not apparent from a superficial review of the cell phone. It remains to be seen whether a detailed analysis of the cell phone data will provide further information.

Deep mourning in Villach

(Bild: APA/GERD EGGENBERGER, Krone KREATIV)

No evidence of mental illness
There is also no evidence to suggest that the Syrian was mentally ill and therefore possibly unresponsive. "During his police interrogation, he answered the questions put to him very clearly and comprehensibly," said Kitz. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that he is not guilty at this stage of the investigation. The man's two roommates had not made any observations to that effect either. Regardless of this, the public prosecutor's office is having a psychiatric expert opinion obtained in order to gain an insight into the man's mental life. In cases of intentional homicide, it is quite common for a psychiatric expert to be called in to assess suspects.

Investigators confirmed on Monday that the suspect had not previously been prosecuted in 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 for this was an unpaid fine imposed under administrative law after forging a document in 2021. Administrative penalties do not lead to a police record.

Applied for asylum in Vienna
The 23-year-old came to Austria in 2019. After arriving in Austria, he had also applied for asylum in Germany, but was sent back to Austria from there. He justified his asylum application with the fear that he would be drafted into the military in his home country of Syria and would then have to commit war crimes. According to the public prosecutor's office, the man had been granted asylum status in Austria since January 2021. Revocation proceedings were initiated shortly after the crime.

According to his own statements, the 23-year-old worked as a newspaper vendor in Villach. He lived here together with two other men in a shared flat. "They were of course questioned and checked, but they are inconspicuous," explained Kitz. The flatmates and family members noticed that the Syrian had recently become more and more withdrawn and had virtually no contact with anyone. He had also prayed several times a day, but always alone.

The Syrian had stabbed passers-by indiscriminately with a knife in Villach city center on Saturday afternoon. A courageous food delivery man hit the perpetrator with his car, whereupon he dropped the knife and was arrested. Hundreds of people lit candles and mourned on Villach's main square on Sunday. The city of Villach wants to provide a space for relatives to grieve and exchange thoughts and wants to set up a relatives' cafe.

The announcement that a vigilante group is to be set up caused a stir. The police don't think much of this idea: "We rely on the public working with us and are happy about any positive form of cooperation. But a vigilante group would be counterproductive, security is guaranteed by the police," said police spokesman Rainer Dionisio. They are "in no way" in favor of setting up a vigilante group.

Carnival parade on the brink
The city of Villach has made a request to clubs and institutions regarding the upcoming carnival parade: They should follow the city's lead and refrain from celebrating for reasons of piety. Many bands and cultural initiatives have already complied before the appeal. The board of the Villach Carnival has also made a decision for its TV recordings. Only the stage program will be recorded, but all receptions and the usual supporting program will be cancelled, according to the Villach Carnival Guild on Monday afternoon. The big carnival parade, which is due to take place on March 1, has not yet been definitively canceled. A decision is still to be made on this, they said.

Schallenberg at the memorial service on Tuesday evening
Church and politics commemorate the victims of the knife attack in Villach on Tuesday evening. Highlights of the memorial service include a memorial march through the town center and an ecumenical service with the Catholic Diocesan Bishop Josef Marketz and the Evangelical Lutheran Superintendent Manfred Sauer. Federal and regional political leaders, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) and Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) are also expected to attend.