A 16-year-old Iraqi boy was seriously injured in a refugee shelter in Leonding.
A 16-year-old Iraqi boy was seriously injured in a violent incident inside a refugee shelter in Leonding, near Linz in Upper Austria, after being stabbed multiple times during a fight with two Lebanese men. The attack resulted in life-threatening injuries, including a stab wound to the lung, another to the abdomen, and a head injury, necessitating emergency surgery.
According to the Krone newspaper, the incident began when two Lebanese men, aged 23 and 25, brought three underage girls aged between 15 and 16 from the Linz-Auwiesen area to a refugee shelter. Reports indicated that one of the girls felt uncomfortable due to rising tensions inside the center, so she called a friend to come and help her leave the place.
In response, the 16-year-old Iraqi boy, accompanied by two other young men aged 16 and 20, went to the shelter. The confrontation quickly escalated into a physical fight between the Iraqi boy and the 25-year-old Lebanese man. During the fight, the other 23-year-old Lebanese man pulled out a knife and stabbed the Iraqi boy several times in the upper part of his body.
The police arrived quickly and detained the two Lebanese men at the scene. They have been charged with attempted murder, and criminal investigations are still ongoing to determine all the circumstances and motives behind the violent incident.
The authorities confirmed the seriousness of the attack and urged caution in refugee centers to prevent similar serious conflicts. The injured boy remains in critical condition and is receiving specialized medical care.