German knife attacker is 26-year-old Syrian who admitted the crime

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 attack, for which the terrorist group “Islamic State” claimed responsibility, occurred on Friday evening on the Fronhof, a market square where live bands were playing at a festival celebrating Solingen's 650-year history. Mourners have erected a makeshift memorial near the crime scene.

The suspect's arrest could stoke fears ahead of three state elections next month in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, in which the anti-immigration, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has a good chance of winning.

The suspect comes from a refugee home in Solingen, which was searched on Saturday, said North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul.

The mirrorCiting unnamed security sources, the police reported that the man had left for Germany at the end of 2022 and applied for asylum; his clothes were smeared with blood.

The police did not want to comment. Mirror Report.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office has now taken over the case and is investigating whether the suspect is a member of the Islamic State, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office said.

In a statement on its Telegram account on Saturday, the group described the perpetrator as a “soldier of the Islamic State”: “He carried out the attack in revenge for the Muslims in Palestine and all over 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.

The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has counted around a dozen Islamist-motivated attacks since 2000.

One of the most serious incidents occurred in 2016, when a Tunisian drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing twelve people and injuring dozens.

“The danger of jihadist-motivated acts of violence remains high. The Federal Republic of Germany remains a direct target of terrorist organizations,” said the BKA report published at the beginning of the year.