Key Factors
- German police have arrested a suspect in reference to the stabbing assault in Solingen.
- Three individuals have been lifeless and eight have been wounded within the assault.
- The self-proclaimed Islamic State group earlier claimed duty for the stabbing rampage.
A 26-year-old man suspected of a stabbing rampage in Germany has been taken into police custody, in accordance with native media stories.
The assault within the western German city of Solingen .
“We now have simply arrested the true suspect,” North Rhine-Westphalia area inside minister Herbert Reul mentioned on public tv.
“The person we now have been on the lookout for all day has since a short while in the past been in detention,” he mentioned, including that police discovered proof to convict him.
The self-proclaimed Islamic State group earlier claimed duty for Friday’s knife assault that additionally wounded eight individuals.
A placard studying ‘Why?’ in German amongst flowers and tributes positioned on a sidewalk close to the scene after the knife assault. Supply: EPA / Volker Hartmann
IS claims duty for stabbing rampage
In an announcement on Telegram, IS’s Amaq propaganda arm mentioned that “the perpetrator of the assault on a gathering of Christians within the metropolis of Solingen in Germany yesterday was a soldier of the Islamic State”.
IS mentioned the assault was carried out as “revenge for Muslims in Palestine and all over the place”, in an obvious reference to Israel’s warfare with Palestinian militant group Hamas within the Gaza Strip.
The declare has but to be verified. German officers had earlier mentioned that “a terrorist motive can’t be excluded” for the act.
Earlier on Saturday, a prosecutor mentioned a primary particular person was arrested: a 15-year-old suspected of failing to report a felony act.
Witnesses had allegedly seen the teenager discussing the assault simply earlier than it occurred with a person who could possibly be the killer, mentioned Markus Caspers, prosecutor of Duesseldorf, simply west of Solingen.
The individuals killed have been males of 56 and 67 years of age and a 56-year-old lady, officers mentioned.
“The victims have been fully unknown with no identified ties between them,” Caspers advised a press convention.
4 of the wounded have been in a “critical” situation, officers mentioned, revising down an earlier estimate of 5.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz mentioned the perpetrator “should be caught shortly and punished”.
The attacker struck as hundreds of individuals gathered for the primary evening of a “Competition of Variety”, a part of a sequence of occasions to mark Solingen’s 650th anniversary.
North Rhine-Westphalia Inside Minister Herbert Reul says it was a focused assault on human life. Supply: AP / Thomas Banneyer
How the assault unfolded
The assault befell within the Fronhof, a market sq. within the western German metropolis the place stay bands have been taking part in as a part of the three-day competition.
Witness Lars Breitzke advised the Solinger Tageblatt newspaper he was a number of metres away from the assault, not removed from the stage, and “understood from the expression on the singer’s face that one thing was unsuitable”.
“After which, a metre away from me, an individual fell,” mentioned Breitzke, who at first thought it was somebody who had had an excessive amount of to drink.
When he rotated, he noticed different individuals mendacity on the bottom amid swimming pools of blood.
A police official, Thorsten Fleiss, mentioned the assailant appeared to purpose for his victims’ throats.
Police cordoned off the sq. on Saturday and passers-by positioned candles and flowers exterior the obstacles.
Flowers and candles are positioned close to the scene of knife assault in Solingen. Supply: EPA / Christopher Neundorf
“We’re filled with shock and grief,” Solingen Mayor Tim-Oliver Kurzbach advised journalists.
A German musician who goes by the title Subject mentioned he was taking part in on a close-by stage when the incident occurred. He was advised about what had occurred however was requested to maintain taking part in “to keep away from inflicting a mass panic assault”, he posted on Instagram.
He was ultimately advised to cease, and “for the reason that attacker was nonetheless on the run, we hid in a close-by retailer whereas police helicopters circled above us,” Subject wrote.
Authorities cancelled the rest of the weekend competition.
Deadly stabbings and shootings are comparatively uncommon in Germany. The federal government mentioned earlier this month it needed to toughen guidelines on knives that may be carried in public by lowering the utmost size allowed.
In June, a 29-year-old policeman was fatally stabbed in Mannheim throughout an assault on a right-wing demonstration. A stabbing assault on a prepare in 2021 injured a number of individuals.
Solingen, well-known for its knife manufacturing business, is a metropolis of some 165,000 individuals.
The episode comes forward of three state elections subsequent month in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, during which the has an opportunity of profitable.
