Germany: Police hunt killer after Solingen stabbings

The president of the European Parliament, pro-European conservative Maltese politician Roberta Metsola, has written of her deep shock at the Solingen attack.

"I am profoundly shocked about this terrible attack on innocent citizens at the city festival in Solingen," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"Hate and violence must have no place in our society. My thoughts are with the victims and their families," she wrote, while wishing those injured in the attack a fast recovery.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed his sorrow at the Solingen attack and called for the perpetrator to be quickly brought to justice.

Writing after a phone call with Solingen Mayor Tim-Oliver Kurzbach, Scholz said: "The attack in Solingen is a terrible incident that has appalled me."

"We mourn the victims and stand at the side of their loved ones. I wish those injured a speedy recovery," he wrote, adding: "The perpetrator must be arrested quickly and punished with the full force of the law."

DW security correspondent Thomas Sparrow says police are focussed both on trying to find the perpetrator and on understanding the motivations behind the attack.
 
"Finding out the motivation will determine to a large extent the concrete reaction from a political and security perspective," says Sparrow.
 
"What seems important at this stage is to avoid speculation — there are already false and misleading stories being shared online — and wait until authorities, who are also speaking to eye-witnesses, reveal more verified information.
 
"In any case, what seems clear at this point is that this knife attack will increase a debate about tougher laws to combat knife crime in the country."

Fatal stabbings and shootings are relatively uncommon in Germany. However, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has said the government is looking at tightening the rules on what knives can be carried in public, potentially reducing the maximum length allowed.

The festival at which the attacks occurred was part of a series of events to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the city of Solingen.

The event, which has been called off in the wake of the attacks, was to have featured stages in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics. Some 70,000 people were expected to attend.

The name given to the event, "Festival of Diversity," comes amid fears that xenophobia is rising in Germany.

Solingen itself was the scene of one of the worst cases of xenophobic violence in postwar Germany.

In May 1993, four young German men who had neo-Nazi ties set fire to the house of a large Turkish family, killing three girls and two women and injuring 14 other family members.

In October 1995, the perpetrators were convicted of arson and murder and given prison sentences of between 10 and 15 years.  

The incident cause a wave of shock throughout Germany, where many residents are of Turkish origin, partly owing to a labor recruitment agreement signed between Berlin and Ankara in 1961.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has expressed her shock at the attack, while saying that German security authorities were doing all in their power to investigate the incident and find the perpetrator.

"The brutal attack on the city festival in Solingen has shocked us profoundly. We are mourning the people who have had their lives taken in a terrible way, " she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"My thoughts are with the families of the deceased and with those who are seriously injured," she wrote.

"Our security authorities are doing everything to catch the attacker and investigate what was behind the attack," she wrote, adding that she was in constant contact with the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and security officials.

In view of rising rates of knife crime in Germany,  Faeser recently proposed toughening weapons laws to allow only knives with a blade measuring up to 6 centimeters (nearly 2.4 inches) to be carried in public, rather than the length of 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) that is currently allowed.

Tim-Oliver Kurzbach, the mayor of Solingen,  has written online of "shock, horror and great grief" in the city following the attack.

"We all wanted to celebrate our town's anniversary together and now we have to mourn the dead and injured," he wrote on the city's Facebook page.

In his post, Kurzbach expressed gratitude to the emergency services for their work and expressed sympathy with those who had witnessed the attack.

"It tears my heart apart that there was an attack on our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we have lost. I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives," he said.

He later wrote that a hotline had been set up for those wanting to know whether their loved ones were among the victims. 

The premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, has said the entire region is under shock following the attacks in Solingen.

"North Rhine-Westphalia is united in shock and grief," he wrote on the messaging app X, formerly Twitter.

"In these dark hours, the people in our state and beyond are in Solingen with their hearts and thoughts," he wrote, adding that "An act of most brutal and senseless violence has hit our state in the heart." .

Police have said the search for the assailant has been made more difficult by the lack of indications as to his appearance or location.

"I think that is our huge problem. We don't have that many details on the attacker yet," said Alexander Kresta, spokesman for the police in nearby Wuppertal.

He said witnesses to the crime were in a state of shock.

"They are receiving professional care from us at the moment, and we are, of course, questioning them to get some more precise details," he said.

Kresta said police were currently acting on the founded assumption that the attacker had acted alone.

Herbert Reul, the interior minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Solingen is situated, has visited the scene of the killings, expressing shock at the incident.

"Out of nowhere, someone starts stabbing people at random," he said.

"We in North Rhine-Westphalia, we are deeply shocked and united in grief," he added.

He said a woman and two men had been killed in the attack.

 

Police have widened a manhunt after three people were killed and five severely wounded in a knife attack at a festival in the western German city of Solingen. 

Officers have extended the manhunt beyond Solingen and set up roadblocks around the city.

No detailed description of the suspect has been provided so far, with police seeking information about the Friday night attack.

"Both victims and witnesses are currently being questioned. The police are currently searching for the perpetrator with a large team," police said.

Officials have also asked for the general public to help in the search.

However, police warned residents who observed anything suspicious not to act on their own initiative but to call the police emergency number.

A police spokeswoman rejected media reports that described the incident as a "terrorist attack."

A large police presence was deployed to the scene in the wake of the attack, in which the assailant was said to have "stabbed people indiscriminately with a knife." The attack began around 9:45 p.m. (1945 GMT).

The festival, called a "Festival of Diversity," was part of a series of events to celebrate the city's 650th anniversary.

Solingen is a city of some 150,000 people located between Düsseldorf and Cologne.