A murderous Austrian motorist who deliberately mowed down scores of people yesterday in busy downtown Graz has a history of domestic abuse and uncontrollable rages.
Investigators say the violent tendencies of Alen Rizvanović, and a resulting separation from his battered wife and two children, is what was behind his otherwise motiveless attacks on pedestrians, cyclists, diners, churchgoers, and other innocent victims.
The deadly excursion the 26-year-old driver took through the city’s most populated districts on Saturday has left three dead so far -- including a bridegroom and a young boy -- and injured nearly three-dozen more, two of whom he also stabbed.
Police apprehended the suspect at a police station where he had finally parked his dented and bloody vehicle after inflicting the public with a homicidal rampage that he alleges was due to pending divorce proceedings filed by his estranged spouse.
Rizvanović, who wasn’t under the influence of alcohol or any other mind-altering substance at the time, is said to be a naturalized citizen of Austria, arriving there as a displaced toddler from war-torn Bosnia.
Few Austrians today, however, believe that a tragic upbringing is any excuse for this weekend’s carnage, and are questioning why authorities allowed the murderous Austrian motorist to keep a driver’s license when he’d reportedly attempted vehicular manslaughter before.
Amid nationwide mourning today, the investigation into the former Bosnian refugee and his unprecedented crime spree in Austria’s second-largest city of Graz is ongoing.
