Austrian police arrest man over brutal attack on woman

BERLIN – Austrian police have arrested a suspect in a brutal Dec. 30 attack on a woman that left her with life-threatening injuries.

The Austrian man told officers he had been stalking various women on a bicycle for weeks and committed the attack out of "frustration" after failing to speak to them.

The 25-year-old victim was attacked with a metal bar in a Vienna street, and her cellphone and bank card stolen. Police were alerted by a caller who said he had found a seriously injured woman but left before officers arrived, returning only later.

The Austria Press Agency reported Friday they arrested the 41-year-old caller three days later after a witness said he had seen a man pursuing the woman on a bike, giving a description that matched his appearance.