German federal prosecutors have taken over the investigation into a knife attack in the western city of Solingen that left three people dead and others severely wounded as they probe a possible Islamist motive.
Police said on Saturday night that a suspect had handed himself in and admitted responsibility for the attack.
A spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office told dpa on Sunday that it was investigating the suspect on suspicion of membership in the terrorist militia Islamic State.
The Islamic State previously said that one of its members carried out the stabbings.
Police in Dusseldorf said on Sunday morning that the suspect is a 26-year-old Syrian. A source in the police department told dpa that when he turned himself in, he was wearing blood-stained clothing.
According to Spiegel magazine, the suspect came to Germany at the end of December 2022 and applied for asylum.
Islamic State claim verified
The security authorities were not previously aware of him as an Islamist extremist.
Islamic State claimed that the attack was “revenge for Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere”, according to a statement on the group’s mouthpiece, Amak.
German police said they were still reviewing the claim of an Islamist link and had not yet determined if it was credible.
Investigators noted that Islamic State has previously made claims of involvement after other attacks without any reliable evidence of any real involvement.
Before being led barefoot to a police escort by heavily armed officers, the suspect was flown by helicopter to Karlsruhe.
He is later expected to be brought before an investigating judge.
Germany’s Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe must decide whether the man will be remanded in custody on charges including membership in the Islamic State terrorist group and murder.
The attack took place on Friday evening at a market square in the city centre, where a stage was set up for live music during the Festival of Diversity, which was being thrown to celebrate Solingen’s 650th anniversary.
Those killed in the attack were two men, aged 67 and 56, and a 56-year-old woman.
Hopes raised for seriously injured
Eight people were wounded, four of them seriously, according to local police chief Thorsten Fleiss. The attacker apparently chose his victims at random but appeared to target their necks, Fleiss said.
“All four patients have a very good chance of making a full recovery,” said Thomas Standl, medical director at the Solingen Municipal Hospital, to Welt TV.
One of the victims had to be ventilated for several hours, said Standl. He had stabilised quickly and was able to answer questions during the ward round on Sunday morning.
“The patient described to me quite impressively that he didn’t actually feel any pain at all, but bent over after a woman who was bleeding from the neck — and then felt something like a dull thud on his back,” said Standl.
This was apparently a deep knife thrust into a large vein in his chest, which critically injured him. At such moments, people release so much adrenalin that they may feel neither pain nor fear of death.
On Saturday, senior public prosecutor Markus Caspers said terrorism could not be ruled out as a motive but that authorities are still trying to piece together what happened.
A city in mourning
The crime scene in the city centre remained cordoned off on Sunday morning and several police cars were still on the scene.
Around 100 people are expected to join a memorial vigil for the victims at 5pm on Sunday, according to an alliance of left-wing and civic organisations organising the tribute.
The mayor of Solingen, Tim Kurzbach, said on Saturday evening that “the pain is infinitely large” in the city following the attack.
“We in Solingen are deeply affected, our city is full of grief. But not being alone in this grief is a good sign,” said Kurzbach.
In addition to the emergency services, he also wanted to thank many people from all over Germany and from abroad for their expressions of sympathy.
He said he received condolences from all over the world.
Hundreds of people gathered in a church within sight of the crime scene for a memorial service on Sunday morning.
The crowds were large, and volunteers pushed additional chairs into the church at times. “At such times, we feel our helplessness and our powerlessness,” said the pastor, Friederike Höroldt.
The service had been intended to help mark the 650th anniversary, but “now everything is different,” said Höroldt.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the attack a “terrible crime” and urged that the perpetrator be severely punished. He also pledged assistance to the city. – dpa
