KILLER ON RUN Cops hunt knifeman as 3 killed in ‘terror attack’ at Solingen festival in Germany after suspect stabbed victims in neck
POLICE have launched a manhunt for the knifeman who stabbed festivalgoers at random in a "terrorist attack" killing three people in Germany.
Eight more people were injured with five of them fighting for their lives after the suspect knifed the victims as they watched live music
The victims are said to be a woman and two men from Solingen and Düsseldorf as reported by BILD.
The suspect is said to have attacked the festivalgoers directly in front of the stage where live bands were playing.
It was previously reported that a man allegedly knifed victims at random in the neck before fleeing, with several people understood to be seriously injured.
However, police spokesman Markus Seitz denied reports that the perpetrator had deliberately stabbed his victims in the neck.
He said: "The police currently have no reliable evidence that he aimed the knife at his victims' necks."
The Interior Ministry has confirmed at least three people have died and the perpetrator remains on the run.Cops are said to be treating the incident as a terror incident, reports Bild.
Police officers in an updated statement on Saturday said said: "Both victims and witnesses are currently being questioned.
"The police are currently searching for the perpetrator with a large team."
"People in the city centre should be careful," a Düsseldorf police spokesman has said, according to Tagesschau.
"Anyone who sees a suspicious person should immediately call 110 and not speak to them."
Police have said they have very little information on the suspect so far but believe the stabbings were carried out by a lone attacker.
Large numbers of officers are involved in the search, which extends beyond the city. Roadblocks have been set up and special units have been deployed.
The three-day “Festival of Diversity” was being held to mark the 650th anniversary of the founding of the city, which has about 160,000 inhabitants and is located near the bigger cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf.
Around 80,000 visitors were expected to attend the event, which has now been cancelled.
The attack happened on a central square, known as the Fronhof.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz posted a statement on X: "The attack in Solingen is a terrible event that has shocked me greatly.
"An attacker has brutally killed several people.
"I have just spoken to Solingen’s mayor, Tim Kurzbach. We mourn the victims and stand by their families.
“I wish the injured a speedy recovery. The perpetrator must be caught quickly and punished to the full extent of the law."
The region's top security official, Herbert Reul told reporters it was a targeted attack on human life but declined to speculate on the motive.
He said: "None of us knows why. I can't say anything about the motive now."
He said the attacker left the scene "relatively quickly".
Lars Breitzke, a witness, said he was standing in front of the stage when the attack took place just a few metres away from him.
He was watching a band playing on stage when he noticed the expression on the singer’s face that something was wrong.
He said: "And then a person fell over just a metre away from me"
Breitzke added that at first he thought the person was drunk.
But when he turned around, Bretzke saw others who had been injured lying on the ground, bleeding, he told Solinger Tageblatt.
Breitzke himself was unharmed.
The outlet's reporter Celine Derikartz described the atmosphere as "spooky".
She said a party atmosphere had turned to shock within minutes and she saw festivalgoers weeping.
The event is understood to have been halted around 10pm as attendees were told to leave the area.
Dozens of emergency workers are at the scene, and the police have declared a major incident.
Photos show police with automatic guns, as well as forensics officers collecting evidence.
Philipp Müller, a festival organiser, appeared on stage during a performance by DJ Topic to announce the event had been cancelled.
He stopped the show to appeal to festivalgoes and said: "Go calmly, please keep yours eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn’t been caught.”
He also reportedly said that nine people were fighting for their lives.
Müller is quoted as telling local media: "People left the square in shock, but peacefully.
Mayor Tim Kurzbach said in a Facebook post: "We in Solingen are all in shock.
"We all wanted to celebrate our city's anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament."
"It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened," he added.
An area near the church square remains cordoned off and a 'situation centre' has been set up at the Café Kersting.
Videos posted on X show flashing blue lights and emergency vehicles.
The festival was officially opened on Friday at around 7pm by Mr Kurzbach.
Presenter Panagiota Petridou, a city native, was supposed to host the evening.Petridou was on site and is now safe, her management confirmed to RTL.
Germany's top security official, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, recently proposed toughening weapons laws to allow only knives with a blade measuring up to 6 centimeters (nearly 2.4 inches) to be carried in public, rather than the length of 12 centimeters (4.7 inches), which is allowed now.
No comments: