Bloody knife attack in Vienna: 56-year-old survives 16 stabs!

Bloody knife attack in Vienna: 56-year-old survives 16 stabs!

A mentally ill man who brutally attacked a 56-year-old woman in a Vienna office with a folding knife is at the center of a harrowing trial that took place on Thursday morning at the Vienna Regional Criminal Court. According to reports from courier This incident occurred on February 3, 2024, when the perpetrator, a 54-year-old man, was initially turned away after handing over money. Immediately afterwards he returned with five knives and brutally attacked the woman with 16 knife stabs.

Witnesses report the dramatic situation when the woman, lying on the ground, tried to drag herself back into an office after being in the attacker's sights for around 40 seconds. The circumstances are frightening: the prosecution described the events as “terrible and brutal”, with the psychological suffering of the perpetrator, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, playing a crucial role in his defense.

Mental illness as a key issue

The psychiatric report confirmed that the man was not guilty and had suffered from untreated schizophrenia for over 25 years. He not only lost his parents - his father died in 2012, his mother in 2022 - but also led an isolated life characterized by paranoia. The defense argued that the crime was not planned, but the result of a serious mental disorder, which ultimately led the judge to decide to commit the man to a forensic therapeutic center for an indefinite period courier reported.

This raises questions about how society perceives and deals with mentally ill offenders. According to information on DGPPN This group of people often enjoy little understanding and many misunderstandings. The DGPPN makes it clear that mental illnesses are not per se associated with an increased risk of violence, but in combination with drug abuse, aggressive behavior and criminal offenses can manifest themselves.

Similar cases and social challenges

In another, similar case, a 36-year-old Viennese man was admitted to a forensic therapeutic center on June 25, 2025 after several violent attacks. The man also suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and consumed cannabinoids for years, which significantly impaired his sanity, reports vol.at. The incident on January 24, 2025, in which he brutally attacked a young man at a bus stop and other civilians, provided another example of how mental illness combined with other factors can create dangerous situations.

These cases also raise questions about the existing framework for therapy and prevention. While many victims are housed in forensic facilities, treatment in correctional facilities is often hampered by a lack of resources. Statistics show that around 45,000 incarcerated people in Austria have mental illnesses, many of whom do not receive the necessary treatment. Experts are urgently calling for reforms and better networking between the justice system and the healthcare system in order to counteract such developments, as the DGPPN emphasizes.