 "Police officers secure the area of an incident, after several individuals were killed on Friday night when a man randomly stabbed passers-by with a knife, at a city festival in Solingen, Germany, August 23, 2024. Reuters")
Three people were killed and four others severely wounded in a knife attack at a festival in Solingen, in North Rhine-Westphalia state in Germany, on Friday (August 23), according to a police spokeswoman in nearby Duesseldorf.
The attacker “indiscriminately stabbed people with a knife,” according to the Bild daily.
Authorities have launched a “major operation” to apprehend the suspect, who remains at large, according to the spokeswoman. She said that a “wide area” had been cordoned off.
An AFP photographer reported seeing special forces and a helicopter on the scene of the attack during police action.
Motive unknown
The incident took place at the Fronhof, a market square where live bands were performing as part of the city’s 650th birthday celebrations. The “Festival of Diversity,” which was expected to draw up to 75,000 visitors over three days, had just begun when the attack occurred.
It now stands cancelled.
Herbert Reul, North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister, visited the scene. He told reporters it was a targeted attack on human life but refrained from speculating on the motive.
Tim-Oliver Kurzbach, Solingen’s mayor, expressed the city’s “shock, horror, and great grief” in a statement. He said, “It tears my heart apart that there was an attack on our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we have lost,” adding, “I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives.”
Rise in knife attacks in Germany
While fatal stabbings and shootings are relatively rare in Germany, the country has experienced a rise in knife attacks over the past year.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIn a similar incident in late May, a police officer was killed, and five others were wounded during a knife attack at a far-right rally in Mannheim.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has vowed to crack down on knife crime.
The German government has been working to toughen regulations on the carrying of knives in public by reducing the permitted blade length.
With inputs from agencies