Solingen, Germany
Reuters
Several people were killed on Friday night when a man knifed passers-by at random at a festival in the western German city of Solingen, newspaper Bild reported.
Bild said the event occurred around 9:45 pm and that at least three people were dead and multiple people were wounded.
Police officers secure the area of an incident, after several individuals were killed on Friday night when a man randomly stabbed passers-by with a knife, at a city festival in Solingen, Germany, on 23rd August, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Thilo Schmuelgen.
Witnesses said the perpetrator was at large, the paper added.
The mayor of the city confirmed there were dead and injured due to an attack, but did not go into details.
“It tears my heart apart that there was an attack on our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we have lost. I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives,” Mayor Tim-Oliver Kurzbach said in a statement.
The local newspaper Solingen Tageblatt reported on its website that the attack occurred at a festival to honour the town’s 650 years.
Local police said they were not yet able to comment.
The attack occurred at the Fronhof, the mayor’s statement said, a market square where live bands were playing.
Solingen is in North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany’s most populous and bordering the Netherlands.
Fatal stabbings and shootings in Germany are relatively uncommon.
In June, a 29-year-old policeman died after being stabbed in the German city of Mannheim during an attack on a right-wing demonstration.
There was a stabbing attack on a train in 2021, injuring several.
