German police expanded a significant manhunt on Saturday after a man fatally stabbed three individuals and injured eight others at a street festival in Solingen. Authorities cordoned off the city center while they interviewed victims and witnesses about the incident that occurred on Friday night. According to a statement, five of the injured were in critical condition. Special forces and security personnel were deployed in the city center, and a helicopter patrolled the area, as reported by an AFP journalist.
The statement, issued by police in Duesseldorf, described how an unidentified man attacked several people with a knife around 9:40 pm (1940 GMT). Police are actively searching for the perpetrator and have urged witnesses to provide any photos, videos, or information related to the attack. Bild newspaper reported that the attacker stabbed festival-goers indiscriminately with a knife. Witness Lars Breitzke recounted to Solinger Tageblatt that he was close to the scene and noticed the singer's alarmed expression, followed by a person collapsing near him.
The festival was part of a series of events celebrating Solingen's 650th anniversary. Mayor Tim-Oliver Kurzbach expressed the city's shock and grief in an online statement, thanking emergency services and expressing sympathy for those who witnessed the attack. Hendrik Wuest, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, also conveyed his shock and grief on social media, emphasizing the state's support for Solingen.
Solingen, a city of about 150,000 people, was hosting the first day of a three-day Festival of Diversity, which was to include music, street theater, and other performances. The festival was abruptly cancelled after the attack, with thousands of attendees leaving the area in shock but calmly. Germany has experienced several knife attacks in the past year, prompting Interior Minister Nancy Faeser to pledge a crackdown on knife crime.
