Attack in Solingen Arrest warrant issued on suspicion of IS membership and murder
There were deaths and injuries in a knife attack at the 650th anniversary celebrations of the town of Solingen (Germany). The media reported the arrest of a suspect - according to the police, it is probably not the perpetrator.
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- There were deaths and injuries in a knife attack at the 650th anniversary celebrations of the city of Solingen on Friday evening.
- The police classified the crime as an attack due to the targeted approach of the perpetrator.
- The emergency services are searching for the perpetrator, who was able to flee after the attack.
The suspect in the Solingen knife attack that left three people dead is remanded in custody. An investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe has issued an arrest warrant on suspicion of membership of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia and murder, among other things, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office announced.
The police had arrested a suspect in connection with the knife attack in Solingen. This was announced by North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) on ARD's "Tagesthemen" and spoke of a "real suspect" who had been searched for all day.
The suspect was taken from the helicopter to a motorcade in Karlsruhe by armed police officers in special equipment.
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After the attack, people left messages, flowers and candles near the scene of the crime.
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Candles and flowers commemorate the victims of the knife attack.
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The crime scene in Solingen city center is still cordoned off on Sunday.
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Two days after the crime, many emergency services were still deployed in Solingen.
Image: dpa
A refugee shelter in Solingen was also searched - and a witness was taken to a police station.
Image: dpa
The Syrian turned himself in to the police on Saturday evening.
Image: dpa
The suspect was taken from the helicopter to a motorcade in Karlsruhe by armed police officers in special equipment.
Image: dpa
After the attack, people left messages, flowers and candles near the scene of the crime.
Image: dpa
Candles and flowers commemorate the victims of the knife attack.
Image: dpa
The crime scene in Solingen city center is still cordoned off on Sunday.
Image: dpa
Two days after the crime, many emergency services were still deployed in Solingen.
Image: dpa
A refugee shelter in Solingen was also searched - and a witness was taken to a police station.
Image: dpa
The Syrian turned himself in to the police on Saturday evening.
Image: dpa
According to "Bild", the suspected Solingen attacker surrendered to a police patrol. He is said to be a Syrian. His clothes were dirty and covered in blood, according to police sources. According to information from "Der Spiegel", he had come to Germany in 2022 and had not yet attracted attention as an Islamist.
It was previously reported that the police had arrested a man in a refugee shelter in the city in connection with the knife attack in Solingen. A police spokesman said that connections between the crimes were now being investigated. He could not yet say anything about the personal details.
The police had stormed the refugee accommodation in the former tax office in Solingen with heavy forces.
Perpetrator was to be deported
According to Focus, the alleged perpetrator was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria in 2023. The date had already been set. However, before the planned deportation, he went into hiding for several months before reporting back to the authorities.
He was then placed in refugee accommodation in the center of Solingen. Officers found the casing of the suspected murder weapon in his room.
Letter of confession from the Islamic State terrorist militia
At the same time, a letter of confession was received from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia. The attacker was an IS member and had carried out the attack, in which three people were killed and eight seriously injured, out of "revenge for Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere", according to a statement on the IS mouthpiece Amak. The attack was aimed at a "group of Christians". The Düsseldorf police said that it had to be checked whether the letter was genuine. Investigators pointed out that the IS had often claimed responsibility for an attack in the past without there being any reliable evidence of real cooperation with the perpetrator.
A previously unknown perpetrator stabbed several people with a knife at a city festival in Solingen on Friday evening. Three people were killed. Eight other people were injured.
Failure to report a planned crime against a 15-year-old
On Sunday morning, it also became known that the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, Germany's highest prosecuting authority, had taken over the investigation.
Reports that the murder weapon had already been found were not confirmed. Several knives have been seized and are now being examined individually. The aim is to clarify which one can be attributed to the crime. Many details, for example about the knives or the course of the crime, remained unanswered for tactical investigation reasons.
A 15-year-old youth has already been arrested, but the police do not believe him to be the perpetrator. He may be charged with failing to report planned crimes. "According to available witness statements, a previously unknown person is said to have spoken to the teenager shortly before the attack about intentions that would fit the execution of the crime," said Caspers.
The 15-year-old is therefore accused of not reporting a planned crime. He refuses to make a statement. The police are searching for the perpetrator, who was able to flee after the attack. Many questions, such as the motive, are still unanswered.
Witnesses are in shock - little information about the perpetrator
Earlier, a police spokesman explained: "Our big problem is that we don't yet have much information about the perpetrator". Witnesses who were in the immediate vicinity of the incident were in shock. "We are currently providing them with professional support and we are of course questioning them in order to obtain more precise information."
The officers are searching for the perpetrator with a large contingent. According to the police, they have gathered a large number of forces around Solingen city center, including special units.
However, the investigators can currently assume that it is a single perpetrator, Kresta continued. All witness statements that the police have been able to record so far point to this. "We are not aware of any other people."
Perpetrator escaped in the commotion after the attack
The perpetrator managed to escape in the turmoil and panic that initially spread after the attack, said a spokesperson for the NRW Ministry of the Interior. According to the police, the perpetrator appears to have attacked passers-by at random, meaning that he chose his victims at random. According to the Ministry of the Interior, however, he had stabbed their necks very deliberately. There was no news about the condition of the injured until the morning.
The later victims were visitors to the festival celebrating the 650th anniversary of the founding of Solingen. The scene of the crime was the Fronhof, a market square in the city center that was well attended at the time and where a stage had been set up for the anniversary celebration. According to a reporter from the German Press Agency, the crime took place directly in front of the stage.
Eyewitness describes incident
An eyewitness described the dramatic moments of the knife attack to the "Solinger Tagblatt" newspaper. He was standing in front of the stage when people were stabbed a few meters away from him. He himself remained unharmed.
He then noticed from the expression on singer Suzan Köcher's face that something was wrong. "And then a person fell over just a meter away from me." He initially thought it was a drunk person, but then noticed that there were other people lying on the floor. He then noticed the pools of blood.
The city has completely ended the street festival, which was originally planned for three days. The events planned for this Saturday and Sunday were also canceled.
Randomly stabbing passers-by
According to the police, the attacker struck at around 9.37 pm. A major alarm was triggered shortly afterwards. At least one helicopter was in the air, numerous emergency vehicles with flashing blue lights and ambulances were on the road and streets were cordoned off. Armed officers secured the scene.
According to the "Solinger Tageblatt" newspaper, thousands of visitors followed the request to leave the square calmly and not to panic. "People left the square in shock, but peacefully," Philipp Müller, one of the festival's co-organizers, is quoted as saying. Later, there was an eerie atmosphere in the almost deserted city center.
dpa