A 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker, on Saturday, stabbed several passersby in the centre of the Austrian town of Villach, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people.

The police made this known, adding that the suspected attacker had been arrested.

A spokesperson for the police in the southern state of Carinthia, Rainer Dionisio, said further details, such as whether the attacker knew any of the victims, remained unclear, stressing that the injured were aged between 14 and 32.

Dionisio said two of the injured people were in a serious condition in hospital after the stabbings.

The incident in Villach came amid an attack this week in Munich by an Afghan national who drove his car into a crowd of people, injuring dozens, two of whom later died.

It was gathered that such attacks are extremely rare in Austria.

It could be recalled that a jihadist killed at least four people in Vienna in a shooting rampage in 2020 that was the country’s deadliest assault in decades.

Villach said to be known for its carnival and is in an area that is a tourist hotspot in the summer as it includes one of Austria’s most famous lakes but otherwise attracts little attention.