Austrian authorities on Monday announced the arrest of a 31-year-old Syrian refugee in connection with the assault on the head of the Jewish community in Graz on Saturday.
“Investigators believe that there was an Islamist motive. Corresponding evidence was seized at his apartment,” said Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer, according to AP. The suspect is also believed to be linked with damage to a Catholic church and an LGBT community center, said Nehammer.
The victim, Eli Rosen, was attacked with a piece of wood after approaching the suspect, who had been throwing stones into the courtyard of a synagogue, according to the report. Rosen escaped the incident without harm, and the assailant fled the scene.
According to the Austrian Press Agency, he ordered all synagogues to be guarded around the clock.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Saturday that he was “shaken” by the attack and promised to bring the perpetrator to justice quickly and to ensure the security of Austria’s Jews, according to the report.