A delivery worker who had driven his vehicle at the attacker helped prevent more injuries, police said.

The driver – also a Syrian man – said he witnessed the attack as he was driving by and deliberately rammed the knifeman.

The suspect was arrested shortly after by two female police officers. As of Saturday evening, he was still being interrogated, police said.

Some witness reports initially indicated a potential second attacker, leading to police shutting down train travel in the attack’s immediate aftermath.

However, local police told BBC News they were confident only one knifeman was involved.

Austrian law means the attacker’s identity has not been released but police confirmed he is a 23-year-old Syrian man who lived locally.

He had a temporary residence permit and was waiting for a decision on his asylum application.

Police initially said four people were wounded but a fifth person later came forward with minor injuries.

The identity of the teenager who was killed has also not yet been disclosed.

The attack comes amid national debates over asylum laws and a political crisis following an election last year which saw the far-right Freedom Party come out on top for the first time.

However it had failed to form a coalition government, leaving Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen weighing up whether to call a snap election, form a minority government, or invite other parties or a group of experts to try and form an administration.

Herbet Kickl, the head of the Freedom Party, seized on the Villach attack, saying in a statement that Austria needs a “rigorous crackdown on asylum”.

Peter Kaiser of the centre-left Social Democratic Party – who is the governor of Carinthia, the region where Villach is located – described the attack as an “unimaginable atrocity”.

He said the stabbings should not lead to “hateful” reactions while urging the government and European Union to tighten asylum policy.