At least 3 dead and 6 injured in knife attack at festival in Germany

MUNICH — At least three people were killed and eight others were injured, five of them seriously, in a knife attack Friday in the western German city of Solingen, where a city anniversary celebration was being held, officials said.

“Tonight we are all in shock, horror and great sadness in Solingen. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now we have to mourn the dead and injured,” Mayor Tim Kurzbach said in a statement Friday night.

Police continued their large-scale manhunt for the perpetrator until Saturday morning. They have not released details about the attacker’s identity or motive.

“Our security authorities are doing everything possible to catch the perpetrator and investigate the background to the attack,” Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a post on X.

On Saturday morning, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his shock at the killings, saying he mourned the victims and stressed that “the perpetrator must be caught quickly and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

“It breaks my heart that there was an attack on our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those I have lost. I pray for everyone who is still fighting for their lives,” Kurzbach said.

Police believe the attacker used a knife and the person remains at large, said a police spokesman near Dusseldorf. The perpetrator specifically targeted people’s necks, police added.

The attack took place on Friday at 21:40 local time during a celebration for the city’s 650th anniversary. The “Festival of Diversity” started on Friday and was to run until Sunday. Authorities canceled the rest of the festival.

Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, told the media that the attacker stabbed people “out of the blue”.

One woman and two men were killed, and eight people were seriously injured, he said.

“I also have a lot of sympathy for all the people who witnessed this; it must have been a terrible sight. I thank all the rescue and security forces for their efforts,” Kurzbach said. “Please, if you believe, pray with me, and if not, then hope with me.”

Hendrik Wüst, the minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Solingen is located, also expressed his shock and said the state stands with the town’s residents and the victims.

“An act of brutal and senseless violence has struck our country in the heart,” Wüst said.

Solingen is a city of about 150,000 inhabitants, about 16 miles northeast of Cologne.