Austrian Man Plows Car Into Crowd Killing At Least Three

A man in the Austrian city of Graz reportedly killed at least three people when he drove his car into a crowd, injuring dozens. Graz Gov. Hermann Schutzenhofer said at a news conference that two of the victims dead at the scene were a 7-year-old boy and a woman.

Austria’s Kleine Zeitung reported Schutzenhofer confirmed the death toll at three, with an additional 34 people injured, 10 seriously, with one in critical condition. The driver is reportedly a 26-year-old Austrian with Bosnian roots. Authorities said he was suffering mental-health issues and that he was not a terrorist threat. Schutzenhofer said the driver acted “deliberately” and called the suspect “deranged,” adding, “There is no explanation, there is no excuse.”

The driver has been arrested, and police have cordoned off the area where the incident happened in downtown Graz, the Associated Press reported, citing local Austrian public broadcaster ORF.

Witnesses told ORF the vehicle appeared to plow into the crowd randomly, hitting several people and leading one of them to fly over the green SUV. Police told Kleine Zeitung that, before his arrest, the suspect got out of his vehicle and began attacking surviving bystanders with a knife.

The city’s mayor, Siegfried Nagl, was reportedly a witness to the events. He said he saw a woman get knocked down by the vehicle.

Hundreds of people have posted on Facebook to express their sympathy over the tragedy.

Graz, Austria’s second-largest city, reportedly canceled a friendly soccer match between the SK Sturm Graz and FC Woodcutter clubs because of the tragedy.