Knife threats in Vienna: Police intervene in two incidents!

Knife threats in Vienna: Police intervene in two incidents!

On Wednesday, the Viennese police moved out twice for threatening incidents where knives were involved. The events caused an excitement in the city and highlighted the current situation around knife attacks, both in Austria and in the adjacent Germany.

The first incident occurred in the Burggasse underground station in the Neubau district. A drunk 49-year-old passenger got into an argument with an elderly lady. When a 27-year-old hurried to the woman, the 49-year-old pulled out a folding knife and threatened with it. The subway driver reacted quickly and asked the man to leave the subway. The 27-year-old also followed the request, but was briefly followed by the 49-year-old. Thanks to several brave witnesses, the police were alerted. The officers of the Urban-Loritz-Platz police inspection arrested the man and secured the folding knife. In an alcohol test, it turned out that the accused had around two per thousand. Although the suspect denied the allegations, he was transferred to the judiciary at the order of the Vienna public prosecutor's office.

another incident in Ottakringer Park

The second incident occurred in the Ottakringer Park am Hofferplatz, where an 18-year-old threatened her 27-year-old ex-boyfriend with a folding knife. The Halirirschgasse police inspection was quickly on hand and temporarily arrested the young woman while the knife was secured. A ban on entering and rapprochement and a temporary ban on weapons were issued against the 18-year-old. According to reports, the 18-year-old had already injured her ex-boyfriend on April 23 in his apartment in Margareten with a broken glass on the neck, which led to a sewn wound with him. She also denies the allegations, while the public prosecutor's office filed a complaint due to dangerous threats and deliberately serious bodily harm.

Statistical analyzes and social debate

The debate about knife attacks and their origin increases. Media scientists and experts see increased reporting on foreign suspects who are often disproportionately represented in the news. A closer look at the data shows that in 2021 more than 10,000 knife attacks were registered in Germany. In federal states such as Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, the proportion of non-German suspects is above the average proportion of foreigners in the population. In Berlin, for example, over 51 percent of the suspects were not of German origin.

In this topic, a connection to the general security situation and on social issues is often also drawn. A proposal by Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser even provides for a knife ban on public transport in order to prevent such incidents. The question arises whether such a measure is sufficient or whether more extensive strategies are necessary to meet the increasing concern of the population.

These incidents in Vienna clearly show that there can quickly lead to dangerous situations that can affect both those affected and uninvolved third parties - a topic that will certainly continue to be important.

Further details on knife attacks in Germany can be found on Statista and in-depth analyzes on href = "https://mediendienst-integration.de/artikel/messer attack statistics-und-berbetungung.html"> Media service Integration . For the latest information on the incidents in Vienna, please visit Kurier .