3 Dead as Driver Deliberately Plows Into Crowd in Austria

Authorities say he was upset over personal problems
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 20, 2015 8:18 AM CDT
2 Dead, Scores Hurt as Man Drives Into Crowd in Austria
A danaged bicycle at the site where a man drove his van into a crowd in Graz, southern Austria.   (Elmar Gubisch/APA via AP)

A man apparently distraught over personal issues drove his SUV into a crowd today in Graz, Austria's second largest city, killing three people and injuring 34 others, officials said. The governor of the Styria province, Hermann Schuetzenhoefer, gave the casualty figures and described the suspected driver as a 26-year-old Austrian who was "mentally disoriented" and acting alone. He said one of the injured is in critical condition.

Police said the driver had been arrested. They said there were no indications of a terrorist attack, and the suspect was apparently distressed over personal problems. State broadcaster ORF cited unnamed witnesses as saying the man apparently drove his vehicle into the crowd at random, sending several people crashing into the windshield and flying over the van. (More Austria stories.)

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