Police emergency vehicles stand at a cordon in the city center of Solingen, Germany, in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 25, 2024, following Friday’s deadly attack during the city’s 650th anniversary celebrations.
Thomas Banneyer/AP/DPA
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Thomas Banneyer/AP/DPA
SOLINGEN, Germany — A 26-year-old Syrian asylum seeker has turned himself in to police, claiming responsibility for a stabbing attack in Solingen that left three people dead and eight injured at a festival marking the city’s 650th anniversary, German authorities said early Sunday.
Düsseldorf police said in a joint statement with prosecutors that the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack.”
“The involvement of this person in the crime is currently under thorough investigation,” the statement said.
The suspect is a Syrian citizen who had sought asylum in Germany, police confirmed to The Associated Press.
On Saturday, the Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attack, without providing evidence. The extremist group said on its news website that the attacker had targeted Christians and that it carried out the attacks Friday night “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere.” The claim could not be independently verified.
The attack comes amid debates over immigration ahead of regional elections next Sunday in Saxony and Thuringia, where anti-immigration parties such as the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) are expected to do well. In June, Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised the country would resume deporting criminals from Afghanistan and Syria after a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant killed one police officer and injured four.
The attack has raised fears of a new wave of attacks in Europe. On Saturday, a synagogue in France was the target of an arson attack. French police said they made one arrest early Sunday.
Friday’s attack has plunged the city of Solingen into a state of shock and sadness. The city of 160,000, located near the major cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf, was holding a “Diversity Festival” to celebrate its anniversary.
The festival began on Friday and was due to run through Sunday. Several stages on central streets offered attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics. The attack took place in front of one of the stages.
The festival was cancelled while police searched for clues in the cordoned-off square.
Instead, residents gathered to mourn the dead and injured, laying flowers and notes near the scene of the attack.
“Why?” asked a sign placed among the candles and teddy bears. Why?
Among those asking the question was Cord Boetther, a 62-year-old trader from Solingen.
“Why do you have to do something like this? It’s incomprehensible and it hurts,” Boetther said.
Authorities had previously said a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of knowing about the planned attack and failing to notify authorities, but was not the attacker. Two female witnesses told police they heard the boy and an unknown person talking before the attack about intentions consistent with bloodshed, authorities said.
Police were alerted shortly after 9:30 p.m. local time on Friday that a man had attacked several people with a knife in the city’s central square, 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 the throats of his victims.
The Islamic State group declared its caliphate over much of Iraq and Syria about a decade ago, but it no longer controls any territory and has lost many key leaders. The group has barely made international headlines.
The Islamist group, however, continues to recruit members and claim responsibility for deadly attacks around the world, including deadly operations in Iran and Russia earlier this year that left dozens dead. Its sleeper cells in Syria and Iraq continue to carry out attacks against government forces in both countries as well as against US-backed Syrian fighters.
