The following report by Egri Nök was published earlier at Vlad Tepes in a slightly different form.

Knife Attacks in Vienna: 4 Critically Injured

by Egri Nök

Two knife attacks on Praterstraße in downtown Vienna, at least 4 injured.

Update: Vienna Police announce one arrest has been made in connection with the second stabbing. A connection to the first stabbing is not yet established. The suspect is an Afghan.

1. An original translation from heute.at:

Perp On The Run

March 7, 2018 20:21; updated 23:01

Knife-Attack in Praterstraße — 3 Wounded

An unknown person attacked passers-by randomly in Vienna-Leopoldstradt. Three were critically injured.

An unknown person seemingly randomly stabbed passers-by on Wednesday evening on Praterstraße near subway station Nestroyplatz, and subsequently fled in the direction of Praterstern. According to first reports, there are at least three seriously wounded — they are in critical condition.

The exact details of the deed are still unknown. The perpetrator is currently on the loose. Police and the special unit WEGA are carrying out operations. Officers in heavy equipment with assault rifles are searching the area. Police cars are patrolling the streets with flashlights.

Victims between 40 and 50 years old

According to police, the victims are one man and two women — a couple and their adult daughter. The two women have been stabilized by now, but the man is still in critical condition. Rescuers moved into action with eight emergency vehicles and an emergency subway train.

Possibly further victims

After the deed, there was another person critically injured by a knife at Praterstern. Police announce that they are investigating whether there is a connection between the two deeds. Praterstern is just a few minutes’ walk away from Praterstraße.

Aktuelle Infos zum Einsatz im Bereich #Praterstraße: Um 19:45 Uhr wurden drei Personen durch einen Täter mit Messer verletzt. Kurze Zeit später kam es zu einer weiteren Körperverletzung mit Messer am Praterstern. Der Zusammenhang ist Gegenstand der laufenden Ermittlungen.

— POLIZEI WIEN (@LPDWien) March 7, 2018

Current information on the operation in the #Praterstraße area: at 7:45pm, an attacker wounded three people with a knife. Shortly afterwards, a second assault occurred at Praterstern. The connection is the subject of a current investigation.

Vienna Police on Twitter, 10:05 PM

Police securing house entrances

The search for the perpetrator is still ongoing. Heavily armed police officers secure house entrances. Around 9:20pm, an ambulance with flashing lights raced downtown.

Subways turned back

The subways around Nestroyplatz were rerouted as a precaution. One of the U2 trains waited for ten minutes at Praterstern before it turned around and returned to Taborstraße.

Police are combing the immediate neighbourhood, the Kärntner Street and the Donau channel.

2. Time quote an eyewitness:

Witness Silvia Franke said she was about 100 meters (330 feet) away when the incident happened.

“I saw how someone in the middle of the street was screaming and shouting — I thought he was beating his dog judging from his hand movements,” she said. “And in reality he was stabbing this man.”

“He could have stabbed me as well had I been there by chance,” Franke said. “He had lost all control.”

[Praterstraße in downtown Vienna, between Nestroyplatz (l.) and Praterstern (r.) — see Vlad’s place for photos and a map.]