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An attacker with a knife killed three people and seriously wounded severals on Friday during a festival in Solingen, Germany, as authorities indicated the suspect is still at large.
According to AP, the incident occurred around 9:30 pm(local time) when witnesses notified police that an unknown individual had been attacking people with a knife in the central square, Fronhof.Police confirmed that the attacker believed to be acting alone, fled the scene swiftly and remains unidentified.
One of the festival organizers, Philipp Muller, addressed the crowd and said, “Go calmly; please keep your eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn’t been caught.” He mentioned that several individuals were injured by “a knifeman.”
Emergency response included at least one helicopter and numerous police and emergency vehicles. Multiple streets in the area were cordoned off. Police reported that five people were seriously hurt, while the region’s top security official, Herbert Reul, noted the number of injured could be six.
“None of us knows why,” Reul stated regarding the attack‘s motive, further emphasizing the uncertainty about the attacker’s identity. He added, “I can’t say anything about the motive now,” noting that the suspect had departed the scene “relatively quickly.”
Solingen’s mayor, Tim Kurzbach, expressed the community’s collective grief in a Facebook post. “This evening, we in Solingen are all in shock. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament.”
“It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened,” Kurzbach added.
Local reporter Celine Derikartz, covering the festival for Solinger Tageblatt, described the atmosphere following the stabbings as eerie. She said, “The atmosphere is spooky,” detailing how a lively party quickly turned to shock and many festivalgoers were seen weeping.
The “Festival of Diversity” was celebrating Solingen’s 650th anniversary and was scheduled to occur over the weekend with various events such as live music, cabaret, and acrobatics. However, the city cancelled the remainder of the festival in light of the attack.
As of now, no arrests have been made.
Solingen, home to approximately 160,000 residents, is situated near larger cities such as Cologne and Duesseldorf. Recently, there has been increasing concern about knife violence across Germany.
In May, an Afghan immigrant carried out a knife attack on members of a group opposing “political Islam,” resulting in the death of a police officer. This prompted Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, to propose stricter weapons laws to limit the public carrying of knives to those with blades up to 6 centimetres (2.4 inches), down from the current 12 centimetres (4.7 inches) allowance.
In June, a 29-year-old policeman died after being stabbed in the German city of Mannheim during an attack on a right-wing demonstration. An assault on a train in 2021 resulted in multiple individuals sustaining injuries from a stabbing.
According to AP, the incident occurred around 9:30 pm(local time) when witnesses notified police that an unknown individual had been attacking people with a knife in the central square, Fronhof.Police confirmed that the attacker believed to be acting alone, fled the scene swiftly and remains unidentified.
One of the festival organizers, Philipp Muller, addressed the crowd and said, “Go calmly; please keep your eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn’t been caught.” He mentioned that several individuals were injured by “a knifeman.”
Emergency response included at least one helicopter and numerous police and emergency vehicles. Multiple streets in the area were cordoned off. Police reported that five people were seriously hurt, while the region’s top security official, Herbert Reul, noted the number of injured could be six.
“None of us knows why,” Reul stated regarding the attack‘s motive, further emphasizing the uncertainty about the attacker’s identity. He added, “I can’t say anything about the motive now,” noting that the suspect had departed the scene “relatively quickly.”
Solingen’s mayor, Tim Kurzbach, expressed the community’s collective grief in a Facebook post. “This evening, we in Solingen are all in shock. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament.”
“It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened,” Kurzbach added.
Local reporter Celine Derikartz, covering the festival for Solinger Tageblatt, described the atmosphere following the stabbings as eerie. She said, “The atmosphere is spooky,” detailing how a lively party quickly turned to shock and many festivalgoers were seen weeping.
The “Festival of Diversity” was celebrating Solingen’s 650th anniversary and was scheduled to occur over the weekend with various events such as live music, cabaret, and acrobatics. However, the city cancelled the remainder of the festival in light of the attack.
As of now, no arrests have been made.
Solingen, home to approximately 160,000 residents, is situated near larger cities such as Cologne and Duesseldorf. Recently, there has been increasing concern about knife violence across Germany.
In May, an Afghan immigrant carried out a knife attack on members of a group opposing “political Islam,” resulting in the death of a police officer. This prompted Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, to propose stricter weapons laws to limit the public carrying of knives to those with blades up to 6 centimetres (2.4 inches), down from the current 12 centimetres (4.7 inches) allowance.
In June, a 29-year-old policeman died after being stabbed in the German city of Mannheim during an attack on a right-wing demonstration. An assault on a train in 2021 resulted in multiple individuals sustaining injuries from a stabbing.
