MUNICH — At least three people are dead and eight others were injured, six of them seriously, in a knife attack Friday in the western German city of Solingen, where a celebration of the city’s anniversary had been taking place, officials said.
“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,” Mayor Tim Kurzbach said in a statement Friday night.
Police officials said that three people were killed, six severely injured and two lightly. Four of the six severely injured are still in a life-threatening condition.
During a news conference on Saturday, Markus Caspers, a prosecutor for the state’s center for terrorism, said that the motive is still unclear but that terrorism cannot be excluded, especially given that the suspect attacked victims by targeting their throats.
The manhunt is ongoing and multiple searches and investigations are being carried out, but so far police do not have a description, identity or a photo of the suspect to share.
A 15-year-old was detained Saturday morning in possible connection with the stabbing. Investigators do not believe at this time that he was the attacker but that he may have had prior knowledge of the attack. Two witnesses told police after the attack that the 15-year-old had a conversation with another person about plans for an attack.
Markus Röhrl, Wuppertal police president, said that prior to the festival there was no concrete threat.
On Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed shock at the killings, saying that he mourns the victims and underscored that “the perpetrator must be caught quickly and punished to the full extent of the law.”
“It breaks my heart that there was an attack on our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we lost. I pray for everyone who is still fighting for their lives,” Kurzbach said.
The attack happened Friday at 9:40 p.m. local time during a celebration for the city’s 650th anniversary. The “Festival of Diversity” began Friday and was to run through Sunday. Authorities have cancelled the remainder of the festival.
Herbert Reul, minister of the interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, told the press the attacker came “out of nowhere” stabbed people randomly.
The dead include one woman and two men, 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 in order 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.
“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 his shock and said the state is with the people of the city and the victims.
“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.
