UPDATE: Islamic State claims responsibility for the deadly terror attack that left three dead, and 8 seriously injured in yesterday’s attack on the 650-year celebration of the German city of Solingen. Two people were arrested, including one Syrian Citizen, who lives in a refugee camp nearby.
According to a report just released by the German magazine “Der Spiegel”, a suspect wearing bloody clothes approached a police car in Solingen and was arrested. His name was released as Issa al H., a refugee in Germany.
The city of Solingen in Germany has been famous for producing knives and top-rated utensils for hundreds of years. Solingen together with neighboring Remscheid and Wuppertal is also frequented by many domestic and international tourists visiting nearby Duesseldorf or Cologne.
Friday night ten thousand people were on the Street celebrating 650 years of the City of Solingen. Solingen is in the German State of Northrine Fetsphalia close to Duesseldorf and Cologne, and also frequented by many visitors.
A fun festival turned into a deadly nightmare and a scene of terror after a knife stepping perpetrator attacked participants at random.
Before the attack, Solingen had turned into a big festival mile: Visitors enjoyed a program with music, cabaret, acrobatics, arts and crafts, entertainment for children, and much more. It was supposed to be a “Festival of Multiples” and was planned for the entire weekend.
Hours after the fun started, a never-been-seen number of law enforcement is currently active in the city, in helicopters, evacuating the streets. An announcement advised participants to remain calm and leave the center but urged everyone to be on the look, and careful, since the attacker or attackers had not been arrested yet. The announcer said there were many seriously injured people and to make room for first responders.
North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst wrote on X: “North Rhine-Westphalia is united in shock and sadness.” He spoke of an act of the most brutal and senseless violence that had “struck the heart” of the country.
Solingen Chief Mayor Tim Kurzbach said: “Tonight, we all in Solingen are in shock, horror, and great sadness. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together, and now we have to mourn deaths and injuries. It breaks my heart that there has been an attack on our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we lost. I pray for everyone who is still fighting for their lives. I ask you. If you believe, pray with me; if not, then hope with me.
In 1993 an arson attack in Solingen was considered one of the most severe instances of xenophobic violence in modern Germany. On the night of May 28-29, four young men belonging to a far-right group with neo-Nazi ties firebombed the house of a Turkish family in Solingen, resulting in the death of three children and two adults. Fourteen other family members, including several children, were severely injured. This attack led to protests by Turks in several German cities.
