A suspected arson attack on a Catholic church has caused a stir in Vienna. It is not only an attack on our culture, but also on our peaceful coexistence, said Laura Sachslehner (ÖVP). Such an attack was “in no way tolerable”.
A mobile toilet placed in front of the Maria Namen church in Ottakring was set on fire on the afternoon of St Stephen’s Day. The fire damaged the neighbouring façade. “My guess: this was a targeted attack,” emphasised priest Jesus David Jaen Villalobos to the newspaper “Kronen Zeitung”. Investigations are currently underway against unknown perpetrators on suspicion of damage to property by fire.
“Attacks on churches are not only an attack on our culture, but above all on our peaceful coexistence. Something like this cannot be tolerated under any circumstances and must have no place in our city,” emphasised Laura Sachslehner (ÖVP) via X (formerly Twitter).
This is not the first worrying incident in the Ottakring district of Vienna: three suspected terrorists were arrested at the refugee centre before Christmas. As a result, increased security measures were taken by the police. The two men and the woman are said to belong to a transnational radical Islamist terrorist network that is said to have planned attacks on Cologne Cathedral and St Stephen’s Cathedral. The fire brigade of the Vienna State Office of Criminal Investigation has now been alerted to the incident in Ottakring.
Sachslehner zu Brandanschlag auf Kirche: “In keinem Fall tolerierbar” | Exxpress