Two arrested after deadly knife attack at music festival in Germany
German police said Saturday they had arrested two people, including a 15-year-old boy, in connection with the stabbing of several people at a music festival in Solingen the previous night.
Three people were killed and eight others injured, four of whom are considered “very seriously injured”. Police are continuing to search for the attacker.
Among those killed in the attack were two men, aged 67 and 57, and a 56-year-old woman, authorities said.
ISIS claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack, according to Site Intelligence Group, an NGO that monitors jihadist media. It is not immediately clear to what extent the unknown assailant was affiliated with the terrorist group or an affiliated group.
The 15-year-old, arrested in the early hours of the morning, is accused of “failure to report planned crimes” but has not been charged, Düsseldorf’s chief prosecutor Markus Caspers said at a news conference on Saturday.
A sign reading “Why?” stands at a makeshift memorial on August 24, 2024, near where at least three people were killed and several injured when a man attacked them with a knife on August 23, 2024 in Solingen, western Germany, as the city celebrated its 650th anniversary.
Roberto Pfeil/afp/AFP via Getty Images
Two female witnesses overheard a conversation between the 15-year-old and another person that may have indicated the assault, and they reported that information to police after the incident, Caspers said.
Flowers, candles and tributes are laid near the scene of yesterday’s deadly stabbings that left three people dead and eight injured on August 24, 2024, in Solingen, Germany.
Sacha Schuermann/Getty Images
Later in the day, police said they searched a refugee housing complex near the festival area on a tip and arrested a second person in connection with the stabbing.
Police have not yet commented on the second person’s connection to the attack, or whether or not he may have carried it out.
Police are continuing their search in “various locations” and are looking for potential perpetrators of the crime, police said at a news conference on Saturday. Police currently believe the individual acted alone.
Police officers attend the scene of an incident in which several people were killed after a man randomly stabbed passersby with a knife during a city festival, in Solingen, Germany, August 24, 2024.
Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters
Police said they found several knives at the scene and believe the attacker may have been aiming for his victims’ necks.
Authorities are still investigating the motive for the attack, but said the victims had no apparent connection to anyone else and investigators suspect it may have been an act of terrorism, Caspers said.
The “Diversity Festival” took place all weekend to celebrate Solingen’s 650th anniversary, according to festival organizers.
Before the festival, police said they had no information about a threat, so there were no surveillance zones or similar measures in place. They said they would implement more stringent security measures in the future.
