Local media outlets report the suspect was covered in blood when he gave himself up to officers on the street in Solingen.
ADVERTISEMENTGerman police said early on Sunday that a 26-year-old man turned himself in, claiming to be behind the knife attack that left three dead and eight wounded at a festival marking the city’s 650th anniversary.
Düsseldorf police said in a joint statement with the prosecutor’s office that the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack,” adding he had been arrested before, but didn't provide details. “This person’s involvement in the crime is currently being intensively investigated," the statement said.
On Saturday the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, without providing evidence. The extremist group said on its news site that the attacker targeted Christians and that he carried out the assaults on Friday night “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.” The claim couldn’t be independently verified.
Officials had earlier said a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion he knew about the planned attack and failed to inform authorities, but that he was not the attacker. Two female witnesses told police they overheard the boy and an unknown person before the attack speaking about intentions that corresponded to the bloodshed, officials said.
People alerted police shortly after 9:30 p.m. on Friday that a man had assaulted several people with a knife on the city’s central square, the Fronhof. The three people killed were two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman, authorities said. Police said the attacker appeared to have deliberately aimed for his victims’ throats.
Solingen, a city of about 160,000 residents near the bigger cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf, was holding a “Festival of Diversity” to celebrate its anniversary. It began Friday and was supposed to run through Sunday, with several stages in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics. The attack took place in front of one stage.
The festival was cancelled as police looked for clues in the cordoned-off square.
The IS militant group) https://apnews.com/hub/islamic-state-group > declared its caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria about a decade ago, but now holds no control over any land and has lost many prominent leaders. The group is mostly out of global news headlines.
Still, it continues to recruit members and claim responsibility for <LINK (deadly attacks around the world) https://apnews.com/article/russia-attack-concert-hall-putin-islamic-state-f6f89c4c39965da6c11c3c111053f0e2 >, including lethal <LINK (operations in Iran and Russia) https://apnews.com/article/iran-kerman-bombing-qassem-soleimani-mideast-tensions-3503bdbaa3d0815996e4010224bd5dcc > earlier this year that killed dozens of people. Its <LINK (sleeper cells in Syria and Iraq) https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-attack-syria-truffles-25828f3dea3251a1f08a27907f939405 > still carry out attacks on government forces in both countries as well as U.S.-backed Syrian fighters.
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Police in Germany have arrested a man suspected of killing three people in a knife attack on Friday night in the western city of Solingen.
"The man we’ve really been looking for the whole day has just been taken into custody," Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, told ARD public TV late on Saturday.
Reul gave no further details but the Bild and Spiegel news websites reported that the suspect had given himself up.
The daily newspaper Bild said the man was covered in blood when he approached officers just after 11 pm local time and said, “I’m the one you’re looking for.”
He had reportedly been hiding in a backyard in the city since the crime took place.
ADVERTISEMENTThe news magazine Spiegel reported that the suspect is a 26-year-old Syrian national who came to Germany in 2022 and applied for asylum in Bielefeld.
The arrest comes after the so-called Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a statement published on its Amaq news site earlier on Saturday, the group said the attack had been carried out 'to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.'
The three people who died were two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman, authorities said. Police said the attacker appeared to have deliberately aimed for his victims' throats.
ADVERTISEMENTPeople alerted police shortly after 9:30 p.m. local time on Friday to an unknown attacker who had wounded several people after stabbing indiscriminately in downtown Solingen.
Solingen was hosting the 'Festival of Diversity' to mark the 650th anniversary of the city. It was supposed to run until Sunday but the event has since been called off.
Solingen has about 160,000 residents and is located near the bigger cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf.