Police detained a 21-year old man in Vienna after he deliberately tried to run over pedestrians while shouting “Allahu Akbar” out of his car. No one has been injured and officials are now investigating the motivation behind the man’s behavior.
The incident happened at around 11:00am local time in the district of Favoriten on Thursday.
“He aimed and drove directly at the passers-by,” Vienna police spokesperson Thomas Keiblinger said in an interview with Radio Wien as cited by national public proadcaster wien.ORF.at
“According to the statements of the eyewitnesses the 21-year-old shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ out of the opened window of his car,” Keiblinger added.
No one was injured in the attack, however one of the pedestrians had to jump from the crossing to save his life, WIEN.ORF says, citing eyewitnesses.
According to the Austrian media the driver is Vienna resident with a Turkish background. The man was detained by law enforcement officials shortly after the incident.
Authorities are now investigating whether the man might have had religious or political motives. According to police the 21-year-old has not yet made any statements.
On Monday a court in Austria’s second-largest city, Graz, sentenced a 27-year-old going only by the name Alen R. to life imprisonment after a run-over attack. The man in question drove his SUV through central Graz on June 20, 2015, leaving his car at certain points to attack pedestrians on the streets with a knife.
Three people died and over 30 were injured as a result. Alen R. Was sentenced to be sent to a facility for mentally unstable criminals.
However the court ruling was invalidated as prosecutors failed to deliver their statement. The man’s lawyer will file an appeal either way.