Three dead in knife attack in Solingen, attacker still wanted

Three people were killed and at least five others were seriously injured Friday evening by a knife-wielding assailant during a celebration in the western German city of Solingen, police said. Early Saturday morning, police said they were still searching for the assailant. “Victims and witnesses are currently being questioned”, “The police are currently looking for the perpetrator”police in the neighboring city of Düsseldorf said in a statement early Saturday morning.

The attack took place on Friday at around 9:30 p.m. on Fronhof Square, a busy area in the city center where stages had been set up for concerts and various attractions. “The attacker stabbed people at random with a knife”explained to the tabloid Image Alexander Kresta, spokesman for the Wuppertal police. The suspected stabber fled the scene, police confirmed.

The event, called “The Diversity Festival,” marked the 650th^e anniversary of the city, which, located near Cologne and Düsseldorf, has about 160,000 inhabitants. The festivities were to be held from Friday to Sunday, and according to Image 80,000 people were expected over the three days. “The festival is cancelled. We have just informed all artists and stand operators”said one of its organizers, Philipp Müller, shortly after midnight.

Area cordoned off

A major operation, including a helicopter, was deployed to find the suspect, a spokeswoman for the Düsseldorf police said. The large number of police officers present during the night from Friday to Saturday were assisted by special forces officers, and the area of ​​the attack was cordoned off.

On the social network X, the German police called on the public to provide them with any information, including photos and videos, that could lead to the arrest of the suspect, who is on the run.

Solingen Mayor Tim Kurzbach said on Facebook: “Tonight we are all in shock in Solingen. We all wanted to celebrate our city's anniversary together and now we have dead and injured people to mourn.”

The party was shut down shortly after 10 p.m., and authorities asked visitors to leave the area and evacuate the city center, where sirens were blaring. “People left the square in shock, but calmly”testified in the local daily Solinger TageblattPhilipp Müller.

A witness also told the newspaper that he was just a few metres from the attack, not far from the concert stage, “understanding from the singer's facial expression that something was wrong”. “And then, a meter away from me, a person fell”said the man, Lars Breitzke, who said he initially thought it was a drunk person. But when he turned around, he saw other people lying on the ground and several pools of blood.

Authorities on alert

In recent years, German authorities have been on high alert against a dual terrorist threat: jihadism and right-wing extremism.

So far, the deadliest jihadist attack on German soil dates back to December 2016: a truck attack, claimed by the Islamic State organisation, left twelve dead at a Christmas market in the centre of Berlin. At the end of May this year, a knife attack in Mannheim (west of the country) targeting an anti-Islam rally, and committed by a 25-year-old Afghan who arrived in Germany in 2014, may have had an Islamist motivation. It cost the life of a police officer and left five others injured.

Another threat looms over the country, embodied by the extreme right, after several deadly attacks in recent years targeting community or religious places.