Solingen attack latest: German police name man, 26, accused of murdering three and injuring eight at festival
German prosecutors have named the man suspected of carrying out a brutal knife attack at a festival that killed three people and injured eight.
The Syrian national was named a Issa Al H, omitting his family name because of German privacy laws. The 26-year-old man had turned himself in to police late on Saturday amid a major manhunt.
German federal prosecutors are investigating the suspect for links to the Islamic State extremist group after they claimed responsibility for Friday’s atrocity, which saw the knifeman aim for victim’s throats.
They are also investigating the man, who had applied for asylum in Germany, on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and membership in a foreign terrorist organisation.
Prosecutors said “due to his radical Islamist convictions” he tried to kill as many people as possible that he considered to be non-believers, stabbing them repeatedly in the neck and upper body.
The update comes after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, without providing evidence.
A woman, 56, and two men, aged 56 and 67, were killed in the rampage at a festival to celebrate the city’s 650th anniversary.
Key Points
Suspect is man, 26, who admitted to crime, police say
Islamic State claims responsibility
The Solingen attack: How it unfolded
Man in custody over the Solingen attack suspected of being member of Islamic State
Stabbing suspect named
Solingen attack: Everything we know about the suspect
Solingen attack: Everything we know about the suspect
16:40 , Amy-Clare Martin
German prosecutors have revealed the identity of the suspected knifeman after he handed himself in to police.
The 26-year-old was named as Issa Al H, omitting his family name because of German privacy laws.
He is suspected of being a member of Islamic State and is being investigated over three counts of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm in eight cases.
Prosecutors said “due to his radical Islamist convictions” he tried to kill as many people as possible that he considered to be non-believers, stabbing them repeatedly in the neck and upper body.
He was pictured in handcuffs being escorted to the Federal Public Prosecutor in Karlsruhe, Germany, on Sunday.
The man is a Syrian national who had applied for asylum in Germany, according to the Associated Press.
The suspect came from a home for refugees in Solingen that was searched on Saturday, North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister, Herbert Reul, said.
On Saturday the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, without providing evidence.
Watch: Police respond to the mass stabbing at a festival in Solingen
16:10 , Amy-Clare Martin
BREAKING: Stabbing suspect named
15:56 , Amy-Clare Martin
German prosecutors have named the man suspected of carrying out a knife attack at a festival that killed three people and injured eight.
The Syrian national was named a Issa Al H, omitting his family name because of German privacy laws.
He is suspected of being a member of Islamic State and is being investigated over three counts of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm in eight cases.
Prosecutors said “due to his radical Islamist convictions” he tried to kill as many people as possible that he considered to be non-believers, stabbing them repeatedly in the neck and upper body.
Where did the attack happen?
15:40 , Amy-Clare Martin
The tragedy unfolded at a festival in Solingen’s central square, the Fronhof, where thousands were gathered for a festival.
The Festival of Diversity, marking the city’s 650th anniversary, began on Friday and was to run until Sunday, with several stages in central streets offering live music, cabaret and acrobatics.
Solingen has about 160,000 residents and is near the bigger cities of Cologne and Dusseldorf.
The remainder of the festival has been cancelled as the city mourn’s the tragedy, with flowers, candles and messages being left near the scene of the attack.
ICYMI: Man, 26, hands himself in to police over Solingen stabbing
15:10 , Amy-Clare Martin
A 26-year-old man has turned himself into police claiming he is responsible for the Solingen knife attack that left three dead and eight wounded, German authorities announced Sunday.
Duesseldorf police said in a joint statement with the prosecutor’s office that the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack.”
“This person’s involvement in the crime is currently being intensively investigated,” the statement said.
Federal prosecutors said they were investigating on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and membership in a foreign terrorist organisation.
The suspect was taken from the police station in Solingen to make a first appearance before a judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe on Sunday afternoon.
Attack comes amid immigration debate in Germany’s regional elections
14:38 , Amy-Clare Martin
The attack comes amid debate over immigration ahead of regional elections next Sunday in Germany’s Saxony and Thueringia regions where anti-immigration parties such as the populist Alternative for Germany are expected to do well, according to the Associated Press.
In June, Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed that the country would start deporting criminals from Afghanistan and Syria again after a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant left one police officer dead and four more people injured.
The attack raised fears that Europe could face another wave of terror attacks. On Saturday, a synagogue in France was targeted in an arson attack. French police said they made an arrest early on Sunday.
Germany stabbing: Everything we know about Solingen festival attack as suspect surrenders to police
13:55 , Amy-Clare Martin
Germany stabbing: Everything we know as suspect, 26, surrenders to police
Pictured: Suspect escorted to Federal Public Prosecutor
13:23 , Amy-Clare Martin
A suspect in the mass stabbing at a festival in Solingen, west Germany, has been escorted to the Federal Public Prosecutor in Karlsruhe, Germany, according to Reuters.
Pictures appeared show the suspect being led from a helicopter flanked by uniformed officers.
A 26-year-old Syrian man turned himself in to police late on Saturday, claiming to be behind the horrific stabbing.
In pictures: City of Solingen mourns festival tragedy
12:40 , Amy-Clare Martin
Suspect to make first appearance before judge later today
12:15 , Amy-Clare Martin
Federal prosecutors said they were investigating a suspect on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and membership in a foreign terrorist organisation.
He is due to make a first appearance before a judge later on Sunday.
Police probe links to Islamic State after suspect turns himself in over deadly Solingen festival stabbing
11:55 , Amy-Clare Martin
Police probe links to Islamic State after suspect surrenders over Solingen stabbing
Suspect is a Syrian citizen who had applied for asylum in Germany
11:31 , Amy-Clare Martin
The suspect is a Syrian citizen who had applied for asylum in Germany, police confirmed to The Associated Press.
A 26-year-old man handed himself in to police claiming to be responsible for the knife attack which killed three and left eight injured.
Recap: The latest updates on the Solingen festival stabbing
11:17 , Amy-Clare Martin
A 26-year-old man has turned himself in to police claiming to be behind the deadly knife attack
German Federal Prosecutors confirmed the man in custody is suspected of being a member of Islamic State
It comes after IS claimed responsibility for the atrocity on Saturday, without providing any evidence
Mourners are leaving left flowers, candles and tributes to the victims as the city reels from the attack
DJ was told to keep playing to avoid ‘mass panic’
10:35 , Amy-Clare Martin
The German musician who goes by the name Topic said he was playing on a nearby stage when the Solingen attack occurred.
The DJ revealed he was told about the mass stabbing but was asked to continue “to avoid causing a mass panic attack”, he posted on Instagram.
He was eventually told to stop and “since the attacker was still on the run, we hid in a nearby store while police helicopters circled above us,” Topic wrote.
Man in custody over the Solingen attack suspected of being member of Islamic State
10:04 , Amy-Clare Martin
The man being held of over the Solingen festival stabbing is suspected of being a member of the Islamic State group, federal prosecutors said.
A spokesman for the German Federal Prosecutor confirmed the person in custody was being investigated for links to the extremist group, which has claimed responsibility for the attack.
A 26-year-old turned himself in to police amid a major manhunt following the deadly stabbing, which killed three and injured eight.
Who has been detained by police?
09:55 , Amy-Clare Martin
On Saturday police revealed they had detained a 15-year-old for questioning amid reports he knew about the attack beforehand but did not alert the authorities.
Police confirmed in a press conference that the detainee was a boy who was not believed to be the perpetrator of the attack, as the manhunt for the assailant continued.
The teen was allegedly seen speaking with the suspect moments before.
Later it emerged that a 26-year-old man had turned himself in to police, claiming to be the knifeman.
“This person’s involvement in the crime is currently being intensively investigated,” officials said.
A third man was also detained at a refugee centre close to the site of the attack.
Watch live: Church service held in Solingen after three people killed at German festival stabbing
09:31 , Amy-Clare Martin
Watch: Church service held in Solingen after three killed at German festival stabbing
The Solingen attack: How it unfolded
09:14 , Amy-Clare Martin
Horrified festival-goers alerted police shortly after 9:30 pm on Friday that a knifeman had begun attacking people at random in Solingen, a city in west Germany.
Thousands had gathered in the central square, the Fronhof, for a ‘Festival of Diversity’ to celebrate the city’s 650th anniversary.
The party atmosphere rapidly turned to shock as the attack unfolded in front one of the festival stages.
The local newspaper Solinger Tageblatt quoted Celine Derikartz, its reporter covering the festival, as saying that she saw festival-goers weeping as news of the horror spread.
One of the festival organisers, Philipp Müller, appeared on stage and asked attendees to “go calmly”, adding: “Please keep your eyes open because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn’t been caught.”
Two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman were killed and eight injured after the attacker appeared to deliberately aim for his victims’ throats.
Suspect surrendered to police
08:57 , Amy-Clare Martin
German police revealed early on Sunday that a 26-year-old man had turned himself in, claiming to be behind the deadly Solingen knife attack.
Dusseldorf 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.
Islamic State claims responsibility
08:14 , Jabed Ahmed
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 as a “soldier of the Islamic State” he carried out the assaults Friday night “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.”
The claim couldn’t immediately be verified.
The IS militant 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 deadly attacks around the world, including lethal operations in Iran and Russia earlier this year that killed dozens of people.
Its sleeper cells in Syria and Iraq still carry out attacks on government forces in both countries as well as US-backed Syrian fighters.
Watch: Police make second arrest as Islamic State claims responsibility for attack
07:58 , Jabed Ahmed
Recap: Major manhunt for knifeman who killed three in Solingen stabbing as teenager arrested
07:43 , Jabed Ahmed
A major manhunt is underway for a knifeman who killed three and injured eight others at a German diversity festival on Friday night.
The man cut the throats of his victims during the attack in the western German city of Solingen, which was celebrating the Festival of Diversity to mark the city’s 650th anniversary.
Isis claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday evening, saying the attacker was a “soldier of the Islamic State”, but the group provided no immediate evidence to support the claim.
Read the full report here:
Major manhunt for knifeman who killed three in a Solingen stabbing as teen arrested
Suspect is Syrian man, 26, who admitted to crime, police say
06:37 , Stuti Mishra
The suspect in custody for a stabbing rampage in Solingen that killed three people and injured eight is a 26-year-old Syrian man, authorities said early on Sunday.
The suspect turned himself in and admitted to the crime, Duesseldorf police and prosecutors said in a joint statement.
“The involvement of this person is currently under intensive investigation,” they said.
The details provide a somewhat fuller picture of an account late on Saturday by a state official who announced on German television the arrest of the man that authorities had been searching for in the 24 hours since the attack.
The attack, for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility, occurred on Friday evening at a festival to celebrate the city’s 650-year history.
The suspect is affiliated with a home for refugees in Solingen that had been searched on Saturday, authorities said.
Der Spiegel, citing unidentified security sources, said that the suspect’s clothes had been smeared with blood.
The police declined immediate comment on the Spiegel report.
Hendrik Wuest, premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on Saturday described the attack as an act of terror.
