Knife threat at gas station: 30-year-old arrested after threat!

Knife threat at gas station: 30-year-old arrested after threat!

In the early morning hours of July 13, 2025, the police in Vienna-Favoriten were alerted to an acute threat. A 30-year-old threatened a group of young men between the ages of 16 and 20 with a kitchen knife on Grenzackerstrasse. The incident took place at a gas station, where the perpetrator chased the threatened people across the area, so that they left their vehicle at the gas pump in a panic and fled over a fence to make an emergency call. According to the Vienna.at The police were quickly deployed and were able to temporarily arrest the suspected attacker.

The situation had already escalated. The 30-year-old uttered the threatening words on the phone: “I’ll stab the next one,” before storming towards the group. According to reports, the perpetrator is the Kosmo.at Austrian citizen and claimed the knife belonged to a friend and was only there for his own safety. However, the police found the knife in the man's backpack and reported him on suspicion of dangerous threats.

Background and social context

This bloody threat comes at the same gas station that was the scene of a deadly attack two months ago. However, police emphasize that there is no direct connection between these two threatening incidents. The affected young men, who have an Arab migrant background, reported that they clearly heard the attacker's threat before he attacked them.

The increase in knife attacks among young people is not an isolated incident. According to one ZDF -reporting, violence in schools and in juvenile crime is increasing. Police and schools are actively looking for ways to stop this dangerous trend. Police statistics from North Rhine-Westphalia show that there were over 3,500 knife attacks in 2023, representing a 43% increase compared to the previous year. What is particularly worrying is that almost half of the suspects are under 21 and 93% of the perpetrators are male.

Given current events, one has to wonder what is going on in the minds of young people and why knives are often viewed as a status symbol in certain subcultures. Experts warn that carrying knives often occurs out of a sense of insecurity or as part of one's identity, increasing the need for preventive measures and education. There is a clear need for action not only in Vienna, but in many cities to strengthen young people's sense of security and defuse violent situations.