MUNICH — A suspect has been arrested in a knife attack Friday night in Germany that killed three people and wounded eight others, officials said Saturday.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack in the western German city of Solingen, where a celebration of the city’s anniversary had been taking place, officials said. Four of the six severely injured are still in life-threatening condition.
The suspect is a 26-year-old Syrian citizen, identified by the German Federal Prosecutor's office as "Issa Al H." He had applied for asylum in Germany, police told The Associated Press.
He turned himself into police Saturday and “stated that he was responsible for the attack,” Düsseldorf police and the prosecutor’s office said in a joint statement.
“This person’s involvement in the crime is currently being intensively investigated,” the statement added.
The German Federal Prosecutor's office took over investigation Sunday and "issued an arrest warrant and ordered the execution of pre-trial detention," according to a statement.
The prosecutor's office said the man is accused of three counts of murder and eight counts of attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm, adding that he shares the ideology of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, which he joined before Friday.
"Due to his radical Islamist beliefs, he decided to kill as many people as possible, who he considered to be non-believers, at the Solingen city festival on August 23, 2024," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. "There he stabbed festival visitors repeatedly and deliberately in the neck and upper body with a knife."
The state interior minister of North-Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, said in a TV interview Saturday that pieces of evidence were recovered and that police had followed leads to the person throughout the day.
Reul confirmed that the suspect, based on his current knowledge, had stayed at a refugee shelter that was searched earlier in the day.
A 15-year-old and another man were previously arrested in connection with the attack. Police said that they did not believe either of them was the attacker but that both were questioned.
Investigators said they believe the 15-year-old, who was detained Saturday morning, may have known about the attack in advance. Two witnesses told police that the 15-year-old had a conversation with another person about plans for an attack.
The Islamic State-run Amaq news agency said in a statement Saturday that the attacker targeted Christians and is a “soldier of the Islamic State” who was seeking “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.”
Markus Röhrl, the Wuppertal police president, said at a news conference Saturday that there was no concrete threat before the festival.
The attack happened at 9:40 p.m. local time Friday during a celebration for the city’s 650th anniversary. The Festival of Diversity began Friday and was to run through Sunday. Authorities canceled the rest of the festival.Reul told the media Friday that the attacker came “out of nowhere” and stabbed people randomly. A woman and two men were killed, he said.
German DJ Tobias Topic wrote on Instagram that security personnel asked him to continue playing his set even as the attack was unfolding to prevent mass panic. He said he kept playing, "even though it was incredibly hard."
He added that the music was stopped after about 15 minutes and that he hid with others in a nearby store while police helicopters circled above.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday he mourns the victims and underscored that “the perpetrator must be caught quickly and punished to the full extent of the law.”
Mayor Tim Kurzbach said in a statement Friday night: "We are all in shock, horror and great sadness in Solingen. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now we have to mourn dead and injured people.”
"I also have great sympathy for all the people who had to witness this; it must have been terrible images. I thank all the rescue and security forces for their efforts," Kurzbach said. "I ask you, if you believe, to pray with me and if not, then to hope with me.”
Hendrik Wüst, the minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Solingen is located, also expressed shock and said the state is with the victims and the people of the city.
"An act of brutal and senseless violence has struck our country at the heart," Wüst said.
Solingen is a city of around 150,000 about 16 miles northeast of Cologne.
