Bild: Solingen - Dead and injured at the city festival. At around 9:45 p.m., a man in Solingen randomly stabbed several partygoers with a knife. The perpetrator, who according to witnesses looked like an Arab, is on the run.
The attack left three people dead and several seriously injured. Dozens of rescue workers fought and are fighting for their lives. The scene of the crime is the Fronhof, a busy square in the city center where a stage was set up for the city festival and live bands were playing. The perpetrator is said to have attacked the visitors directly in front of the stage. The fatalities are said to be a woman and two men from Solingen and Düsseldorf.
Chief Inspector Sascha Kresta, spokesman for the Wuppertal police: "The attacker stabbed people at random with a knife. That's why we are currently assuming it was an attack. There are currently three fatally injured victims, four seriously injured and people in shock. A large-scale search for the attacker is underway, and we absolutely want to arrest the perpetrator. But investigations, forensic evidence and witness interviews are also ongoing at the same time."
The police have declared a major alarm and the manhunt for the knife attacker is underway. The town festival was cancelled after the crime, and a police helicopter is circling above the cordoned-off area. Heavily armed special forces units with around 40 special vehicles from all over North Rhine-Westphalia are in Solingen. Road crossings have been closed and residents have been asked to stay in their homes and avoid the town centre. A makeshift situation centre has been set up in a café.
