A Syrian asylum seeker who Austrian authorities said killed a teenager and injured five other people in a knife attack in Villach, Austria, was inspired by the Islamic State militant group, officials said on Sunday.
The man, who was detained after the attack on Saturday, had become radicalized online, said Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner. The police said they believed that the victims were chosen at random.
The suspect is 23 years old, came to Austria from Syria in 2020 and was later given asylum, according to the interior ministry.
The attack comes days after an Afghan citizen, who came to Germany as a child refugee, drove a car into a crowd of people at a union march in Munich, 150 miles away from Villach, killing two people and injuring nearly 40.
In July, the singer Taylor Swift was forced to cancel three concerts in Vienna, Austria’s capital, after authorities learned of a plan to attack the venue by two teenagers who had become radicalized Islamists online. Neither was a refugee.
Austria’s far-right Freedom Party has profited from fears of foreigners, especially young, male asylum seekers. Campaigning on a slogan of “Fortress Austria,” the party came in first in elections last year, with 29 percent of the vote. Last week it gave up its quest to form a governing coalition in Austria’s current Parliament, but its popularity continues to rise, according to polls.
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