Several dead in stabbing at Solingen street festival – DW – 24.08.2024

Three people were killed and five seriously injured in a knife attack in Solingen, western Germany, on Friday.

Police said they had “launched a major operation to find the suspect, who fled in the tumult and panic that followed the crime.”

According to media reports, a man randomly stabbed passers-by with a knife at a festival celebrating the city's 650th anniversary.

The local newspaper Solingen Daily Newspaper reported that three people had been killed and others were in critical condition.

After the attack, the city of Solingen completely cancelled its 650th anniversary celebrations.

The events planned for this Saturday and Sunday have also been cancelled, the city announced on Saturday evening.

Police call for manhunt

The incident occurred at Fronhof, a market square in the center of the city where a stage was set up for live music. Police were alerted shortly after 9:30 p.m. (19:30 GMT).

After the attack, the authorities asked residents to leave the city center. Müller took the stage and asked festival-goers to “stay calm and keep their eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator has not yet been caught.”

The police declared a major alarm and launched a manhunt. Armed officers were on site and had cordoned off large parts of the city. In addition, barriers were erected throughout the city.

According to the German daily newspaper PictureHeavily armed SEK units with around 40 special vehicles from all over North Rhine-Westphalia were deployed to Solingen.

Road intersections were closed and residents were asked to stay in their homes and avoid the city center, the release said.

According to the German news agency DPA, North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul arrived in Solingen and visited the scene of the accident.

He warned against speculation. “Out of the blue, someone randomly stabs people. Nothing can be said about the person or the motive,” said Reul. There are simply no reliable facts.

Solingen has about 160,000 inhabitants and is located near the major cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf in Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Witnesses in shock

The incident left the festival participants in a state of shock. A witness reported to the Solingen Daily Newspaper He was standing in front of the stage at the Fronhof when the attack occurred just a few meters away from him.

He had just watched live music when he noticed from the singer's expression that something was wrong.

“And then a person fell down just a meter away from me,” Lars Breitzke told the local newspaperAt first he thought the person was drunk.

But when he turned around, Breitzke saw other people lying on the ground in pools of blood. He himself was unharmed.

Solingen's mayor Tim Kurzbach was also shocked by the deadly attack on the city festival. “All of us in Solingen are full of shock, horror and great sadness this evening,” he wrote on the city's Facebook page.

“We all wanted to celebrate our city's anniversary together and now we have to mourn the dead and injured,” he said. “I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives,” Kurzbach added..

North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst said the country was united in shock and grief after the attack in Solingen.

“In these dark hours, the hearts and minds of the people of our state and beyond are in Solingen, where an act of brutal and senseless violence has struck the heart of our state,” he wrote in a post on X.

dh/ab (dpa, Reuters, AP)