Graz, Austria: Bosnian (Muslim?) man drives into crowd before stabbing bystanders

The suspect who has been captured is not named in the story.

The authorities immediately denied any terrorist connections, despite the obvious fact that there has not been enough time to carry out a thorough investigation. Instead, they attribute the violence to psychosis on the part of the perpetrator. Clearly, “sudden jihad syndrome” and mental instability are by no means mutually exclusive.

Independent (UK) has the story:

(h/t: eaglesoars)

A seven-year-old boy is reportedly among the three people killed in Austria by a man who ploughed his car into crowds in the country’s second-largest city and then reportedly started stabbing people.

A witness told the Wiener Zeitung newspaper that dead bodies were left lying face down in the street after the vehicle sped through streets near the the historical Herrengasse in Graz.

More than 30 pedestrians were injured during the rampage and the driver, a 26-year-old Austrian man of Bosnian heritage, has been arrested and the area sealed off.

Blood could be seen on the pavement after people were run over in Graz earlier today

Authorities said that 10 people were seriously injured in hospital and one patient was in a critical condition on Saturday afternoon.

Witnesses recounted how the man drove his vehicle into the crowd apparently at random, sending people crashing into the windscreen and rolling over the bonnet.

Local media reported that the driver jumped out and attacked at least one passer-by with a knife before he could be subdued and arrested.

The incident happened at around noon local time (11.00am BST), sending screaming shoppers running into shops for safety.

A statement from the city council said: “At 12pm there was an appalling incident in the centre of Graz, which has caused major alarm and left the city deeply shaken.

“A killer used his car as a weapon and deliberately ran people down on a rampage. The perpetrator is in custody.”

Paramedics treat a person at the scene where an SUV drove into pedestrians in the city center of Graz, Austria

A spokesperson said the killing spree started in Zweiglgasse, where one person died, and the driver continued through the city and over the Schönaugasse bridge to the Jakominiplatz square on Herrengasse, ploughing into a cafe seating area.

A witness speaking to the Wiener Zeitung compared the sound of chairs and tables being knocked over by the speeding car to a “gunfight”.

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Daily Mail (UK) has more.