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Eight people were injured, five of them seriously, police said in a statement, which was fewer casualties than police had previously reported.
“The victims and witnesses are currently being questioned. A large police team is searching for the perpetrators,” police said.
Police and ambulances near the scene of the attack at the Solingen festival.Credit: Associated Press
The weapon used by the attacker was believed to be a knife, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported, citing an unnamed police source.
The multicultural festival, which kicked off on Friday to mark the city’s 650th anniversary, was to have lasted all weekend, with multiple stages along the central streets offering live music, cabaret and acrobatics. The rest of the festival has been cancelled.
Solingen has a population of around 160,000 and is located near the larger cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf.
Forensic officers investigate the crime scene.Credit: Getty Images
Philipp Müller, one of the festival’s organisers, took to the stage and asked the audience to “calm down; keep your eyes open because, unfortunately, the perpetrators have not yet been caught”. He said many people had been injured by “those with knives”.
“Everyone in Solingen is in shock tonight,” Mayor Tim Kutzbach said in a Facebook post. “We all wanted to celebrate the anniversary of our city together, but now we have to mourn the dead and injured.”
He added: “It breaks my heart that our city has been attacked.”
newspaper solinger daily “The atmosphere was eerie,” said Celine Derikartz, a journalist covering the festival. She said the party atmosphere turned alarming within minutes and she saw festival-goers crying.
Germany’s top security official, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, recently proposed strengthening weapons laws to allow only knives with blades no longer than 6 centimeters in public, rather than 12 centimeters.
There have been concerns recently about a rise in knife violence in Germany.
In May, an Afghan immigrant stabbed members of a group that claimed to oppose “political Islam,” killing a police officer.
Associated Press and Reuters
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