By Tom Sims, Reuters
Police on the scene after three people were killed in an attack at the 650th anniversary celebrations of the German city Solingen. Photo: Gianni Gattus / DPA / AFP
German police said on Saturday that they were still searching for an unknown assailant hours after he killed three people and wounded others in a stabbing attack at a festival in the western city of Solingen.
Eight were injured, five of them seriously, the police said in a statement early on Saturday. That was up from the four serious injuries the police reported earlier.
"Both victims and witnesses are currently being questioned. The police are currently searching for the perpetrator with a large team," police said.
The incident occurred around 9:40pm on Friday (7.40am Saturday NZT), when the man attacked multiple people with a knife, the police said.
Fatal stabbings and shootings are relatively uncommon in Germany. The government wants to toughen rules on knives that can be carried in public by reducing the maximum length allowed.
In June, a 29-year-old policeman died after being stabbed in Mannheim during an attack on a right-wing demonstration. A stabbing attack on a train in 2021 injured several.
Friday's attack occurred at a festival marking the 650th anniversary of Solingen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, which borders the Netherlands.
Authorities cancelled the remainder of the weekend event.
The state's interior minister, Herbert Reul, visited the scene early on Saturday, telling reporters it was a targeted attack on human life but declining to speculate on the motive.
A police spokesperson said they were unable to provide any details about the alleged perpetrator.
The attack occurred at the Fronhof, a market square where live bands were playing.
- Reuters