Festival attack in Solingen leaves casualties

Three people were killed and eight injured, five seriously, in a knife attack during the 650th anniversary of the founding of the city of Solingen. Düsseldorf police say the perpetrator is on the run. A police spokesman said there was no reliable information about the suspect’s appearance. “We currently do not know his whereabouts,” he added. Investigators must now “put all the pieces of the puzzle together.”

Reliable information is scarce. “I think that’s our big problem. We don’t have much information yet about the perpetrator,” the spokesman said. Witnesses near the scene of the incident were shocked. “We are currently caring for them professionally and of course we are also interviewing them to get more accurate information.” Police currently believe that this was a lone attacker. All the witness statements that police have been able to record so far point to this. “We don’t know anyone else.”

A spokesman for the North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Ministry said the killer managed to escape during the initial chaos and panic that followed the crime. The attacker very clearly stabbed the victim in the neck. They were visitors to the festival. Forensic identification is currently underway. The dead are still at the crime scene. They are said to be a woman and two men. Their identities have not yet been determined. There is currently no reliable information about the appearance of the fleeing suspect.

The police said the case was no longer classified as a malicious act but an attack. The perpetrator’s targeted approach supports this. Meanwhile, the North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister met with Herbert Ruhl at the crime scene that night. He warned against speculation. “Someone suddenly stabbed someone randomly. You can’t say anything about this person or the motive,” Rule said after getting his impression of the crime scene that night. There are simply no solid facts.

Wuppertal police contacted by phone Facebook Avoid the center of Solingen. Anyone who sees anything suspicious should not take any action, but call 110. The North Rhine-Westphalia state police said in an online service that a citizen phone number will also be set up for this purpose.

The search extended beyond the city limits; many roadblocks were set up in Solingen. Helicopters were in the air overnight. Police stood at the scene with weapons drawn and controlled the scene. A cordon was set up throughout the city. A privacy wall was built. The crime scene was located at the Fronhof market square in the center of Solingen. There was a stage for live music.

Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrick Wooster Describing the attack as “the most brutal and senseless act of violence,” he wrote on Platform X that the act “struck the heart of our nation.”

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Fesser was also shocked. “We mourn those who lost their lives in a terrible way,” the SPD politician wrote on the X platform on Saturday. Security services will do everything they can to catch the perpetrators and establish the context of the attack. “I am in contact with North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Ruhl and our security services,” Fesser wrote.

A reporter for the Sollinger Daily newspaper at the time of the attack described the atmosphere as “a strange one.” Within minutes, the mood of celebration turned to shock, and she was greeted by tearful tourists.

The “Diversity Festival” kicked off on Friday on the occasion of the city of Solingen’s 650th birthday. It should last until Sunday. “Solingen Mitte will become one big festival mile: There will be celebrations from Neumarkt to Fronhof to Mühlenplatz,” the announcement said.

This marks the end of the city’s 650th anniversary celebrations. As the city announced on Saturday evening, the events planned for this Saturday and Sunday will also be cancelled.