At least 3 dead and 6 injured in knife attack at festival in Germany
MUNICH — At least three people are dead and eight others were injured, five 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.
“This evening 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.
The police continued their large-scale manhunt for the perpetrator into Saturday morning. They have not released details about the attacker’s identity or motive.
“Our security authorities are doing everything they can to catch the perpetrator and investigate the background of the attack,” Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, said in a post on X.
On Saturday morning, 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.
Police believe the attacker used a knife, and that person remained at large, a police spokesman in nearby Dusseldorf said. The perpetrator aimed specifically for people’s throats, the police added.
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 “out of nowhere” stabbed people randomly.
The dead are one woman and two men, and eight people were severely injured, he said.
“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.
