3 Dead, 34 Injured: Man Drives SUV Through Crowd At 90 MPH Before Stabbing Pedestrians

A deranged man drove his SUV through a crowd of people on a busy street in Graz, Austria, at 90 MPH before exiting the vehicle and stabbing random bystanders. The attack killed at least three people, including a four-year-old boy, and injured 34 others. At least six of the injured pedestrians are listed in critical condition.

The Daily Mail reports that a father-of-two experiencing “psychosis” following a family dispute plowed through a crowd in a busy shopping district in Graz, Austria, which killed three people including a four-year-old little boy. After running down the crowd with his vehicle, the man then exited his SUV and began to stab nearby pedestrians which allegedly included an elderly couple and police officers.

The National Police Director, Josef Klamminger, claims that the man responsible for the attack is believed to be a married 26-year-old father-of-two. The man is said to have experienced an episode of “psychosis” after struggling with family issues in the weeks prior to the brutal attack. In fact, Klamminger says that the wife of the man had filed a restraining order against him just a month ago following a domestic violence report.

Two of the pedestrians were killed while they dined at an outdoor patio table at a local restaurant, and the third person killed was riding a bike along the street before being hit by the speeding SUV. A waitress at the restaurant where the two diners were killed says she heard screaming prior to the vehicle plowing through the outdoor patio in front of the restaurant. She says the SUV caught a boy who was thrown against a wall.

Eventually the man stopped in front of a local business and exited the vehicle. Upon exiting he began stabbing random pedestrians with a knife. One witness says an elderly couple was stabbed in the attack along with a police officer.

According to a conflicting report by the Independent, the boy killed was seven years old and not four. It was also noted that the incident took place in the streets near the the historical Herrengasse, and only stopped when the SUV parked outside of a police station after stabbing people outside of a local grocery store including an elderly couple.

“Apparently the guy was attacking two elderly people with a knife and then attacking police with a knife when he got out.”

Police note that the attack was not an act of terrorism, but instead was the result of the man’s mental illness and family issues.

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