2025 Villach stabbing attack
{{Short description|Mass stabbing in Villach, Austria}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = 2025 Villach stabbing attack
| date = {{start date and age|2025|02|15|df=yes}}
| image = File:Messerangriff in Villach am 15. Februar 2025 09.jpg
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| caption = A police car at the scene of the attack
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| time = 15:33
| type = Mass stabbing
| weapon = Pocketknife
| fatalities = 1
| injuries = 5
| victims =
| victim =
| perpetrator = {{flagicon|ISIS}} Islamic State
| accused = Ahmad G.
| motive = Islamic extremism
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On 15 February 2025, a mass stabbing occurred in Villach, Austria. A 23-year-old Syrian male 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.
Attack
File:Villach Innenstadt Hauptplatz mit Pranger NO-Ansicht 30012011 666.jpg
The attack took place at 15:33 near the historic city center of Villach, when the suspect allegedly began randomly attacking pedestrians with a knife.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-15 |title=Austria: Villach knife attack leave teenager dead and four wounded |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cew5v48w54qo |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=Boy, 14, dies after five stabbed in Austria |url=https://news.sky.com/story/boy-14-dies-after-five-stabbed-in-austria-13310330 |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=Sky News |language=en}} The attack was partially interrupted by the intervention of a Syrian food delivery worker who, upon witnessing the stabbings from his vehicle, reportedly 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.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-15 |title=A 23-year-old man randomly stabs 6 passersby in southern Austria, killing 1, police say |url=https://apnews.com/article/austria-stabbings-4913f6921c6f27e6d7fd8590da85cc9f |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=AP News |language=en}}Anja Kröll: [https://www.sn.at/panorama/oesterreich/gewalttat-villach-taeter-opfer-173599483 23-jähriger Syrer stach mitten in Villach auf sechs Unbekannte ein: 14-Jähriger tot], Salzburger Nachrichten, February 15, 2025; accessed February 15, 2025
File:Messerangriff in Villach am 15. Februar 2025 02.jpg
The attack resulted in the death of the 14-year-old Alexander Kopeinig{{Cite web |title=Alex Kopeinig: Parte, Aufbahrung, Begräbnis, Grabstelle |url=https://gedenkseite.at/alex-kopeinig-26306/beisetzung |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=Pax-Requiem |language=de}}{{Cite web |last=wil |first=dav |title=HTL, Kartfahren – Alex (14) steckte voller Lebenslust {{!}} Heute.at |url=https://www.heute.at/s/htl-kartfahren-alex-14-steckte-voller-lebenslust-120091319 |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=www.heute.at |language=de}}{{Cite web |last=Loibnegger |first=Klaus |date=2025-02-22 |title=Trauertag in Villach: Der schmerzerfüllte Abschied |url=https://www.krone.at/3700583 |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=Kronen |language=de}} and the wounding of five other people, aged 15 to 36,[https://www.msn.com/de-at/nachrichten/other/is-material-in-wohnung-von-ahmad-g-gefunden/ar-AA1z9bg4?cvid=d4fc399efc444a398afcc7521dcfff29&ei=6 IS-Material in Wohnung von Ahmad G. gefunden!], OE24, February 16, 2025 of which three were treated in intensive care.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-16 |title=Attentat in Villach: Erstes Gutachten über den Syrer liegt vor |url=https://www.kleinezeitung.at/kaernten/19470363/gerichtsmedizinisches-gutachten-ueber-den-syrer-liegt-vor |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=www.kleinezeitung.at |language=de}}{{Cite web |last=Krone |first=Kärntner |date=2025-03-03 |title=Nach Attentat: Opfer auf dem Weg der Besserung |url=https://www.krone.at/3711493 |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=Kronen |language=de}} A man from Turkey was among the injured.{{cite web |date=16 February 2025 |title=Messerattacke: Behörden bestätigen islamistischen Hintergrund |url=https://www.srf.ch/news/international/villach-in-kaernten-messerattacke-behoerden-bestaetigen-islamistischen-hintergrund |work=SRF News |language=German}}
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.{{Cite web |date=February 16, 2025 |title=Klappmesser war Waffe des 23-jährigen Täters |trans-title=Folding knife was the weapon of the 23-year-old perpetrator |url=https://www.klick-kaernten.at/1235472025/der-syrische-taeter-23-soll-allahu-akbar-gerufen-haben/ |access-date=February 22, 2025 |publisher=KLiCK Kärnten |language=de}} 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.
The suspect held legal residency status in Austria at the time of the attack.[https://www.oe24.at/oesterreich/chronik/das-wissen-wir-ueber-den-syrischen-amoklaeufer/623972279 Ahmad G.: Das ist der syrische Amokläufer von Villach], Österreich (newspaper), February 15, 2025; accessed February 15, 2025 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/austria-stabbing-islamist-attack-interior-minister-says/a-71629831|title=Austria stabbing 'Islamist attack,' interior minister says|work=DW|date=16 February 2025}}{{Cite news |last=Zivulovic |first=Borut |date=17 February 2025 |title=Austria says stabbing attack suspect swore allegiance to Islamic State |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/three-intensive-care-after-deadly-austrian-knife-attack-2025-02-16/ |work=Reuters}} Police later recovered a recording of the suspect swearing an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State.