Bangkok Post – German knife attacker is a 26-year-old Syrian who admitted the crime

FRANKFURT – The suspect arrested in connection with a shooting spree in the western German city of Solingen in which three people were killed and eight injured is a 26-year-old Syrian, authorities said early Sunday.

The suspect turned himself in and confessed to the crime, according to a joint statement by the Düsseldorf police and public prosecutor's office.

“The involvement of this person is currently being intensively investigated,” it said.

The details paint a somewhat more complete picture of the report given late Saturday evening by a state official who announced on German television the arrest of the man whom authorities had been searching for for 24 hours since the attack.

The attack, which the terrorist militia “Islamic State” claimed responsibility for, occurred on Friday evening during a festival celebrating the city's 650-year history.

The suspect is linked to a refugee home in Solingen, which was searched on Saturday, authorities said.

Der Spiegel reported, citing unnamed security sources, that the suspect's clothing was smeared with blood.

The police declined to immediately comment on the Spiegel report.

The Islamic State called the man who carried out the attack an “Islamic State soldier” in a statement on its Telegram account on Saturday: “He carried out the attack in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and around the world.”

She did not initially provide evidence for her claim and it was not clear how close the connection was between the attacker and the Islamic State.

North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst described the attack on Saturday as an act of terrorism.