German prosecutors have named a 26-year-old man who has been charged with three counts of murder, and attempted murder and eight counts of dangerous bodily harm after a deadly rampage at a festival in Solingen.
Prosecutors said “due to his radical Islamist convictions” he tried to kill as many people as possible that he considered to be non-believers, specifically a ‘gathering of Christians’, according to a statement by terror group, Isis. The suspect is also accused of being “a member of a terrorist organisation abroad”, saying he shares the “ideology of Islamic State” (IS).
Police did not give the family name of the suspect due to Germany’s privacy laws, but named him as Issa Al H, a 26-year old Syrian who had applied for asylum in Germany in 2022, and came from a home for refugees in Solingen in west Germany.
He handed himself into the authorities on Saturday, with Germany’s Bild and Spiegel reporting that he had surrendered to police still wearing blood-stained clothes. An ordinary kitchen knife was reportedly used in the frenzied attack.
The Islamic terror group, Isis, has claimed responsibility for the rampage on their Amaq news site, saying the attacker targeted a gathering of Christians and was a “soldier of the Islamic State”, who they said carried out the attack “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere”. However, they provided no immediate evidence to support the claim.
The attack occurred at a ‘Festival of Diversity’ to celebrate Solingen’s 650th anniversary. A woman, aged 56, and two men, aged 56 and 67, were killed and eight others were injured, with four left fighting for their lives in hospital, police said.
The suspect had evaded deportation from Germany to Bulgaria in June 2023 which was responsible for his asylum application according to EU rules, Der Spiegel magazine said.
Federal prosecutors said that: “Due to his radical Islamist convictions, he decided to kill as many people as possible at the Solingen city festival,” – adding that “he stabbed visitors to the festival repeatedly and deliberately in the neck and upper body area with a knife.”
Dem 26-Jährige mutmaßlichen Tatverdächtigen des Messerangriffs in Solingen ist ein Haftbefehl eröffnet worden. Er muss sich wegen des Verdachts des Mordes und der Mitgliedschaft in einer Terrorgruppe verantworten. https://t.co/COidSxrvfU
— DER SPIEGEL (@derspiegel) August 25, 2024
Police have also arrested a 15-year-old boy who is alleged to have known about the attack in advance.
Solingen Mayor Tim Kurzbach said that “all of us in Solingen are in shock, horror and great sadness” and that “the pain is infinitely large” in the city after the atrocity.
“We in Solingen are deeply affected, our city is full of grief. But not being alone in this grief is a good sign,” Kurzbach said. “The pain is immense. But knowing that you are not alone in this helps,” he said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Solingen this morning (Monday), and is due to pay tribute to the victims of the attack. In a post on X, he said that The perpetrator must be quickly caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
Flowers, candles and messages have lined the streets since Friday night, with one card asking: Warum? Why?
Candles and flowers and the inscription "Why? You are not alone" are pictured on late August 24, 2024 near the area where three people were killed and several injured during a knife attack during a city festival in Solingen on late August 23, 2024.
— Nepali Paisa (@nepalipaisa) August 26, 2024
Photo: AFP/RSS pic.twitter.com/ARa3qE40ir
In the aftermath of Friday’s attack a huge manhunt was undertaken by German police as large contingents of officers and a helicopter searched for the knifeman.
A knife attack has killed three people and injured at least eight at a street festival in the German city of Solingen. Police said the hunt for the killer is ongoing as not many details have been ascertained as to his identity or appearance. https://t.co/RSZEcdm6pQ pic.twitter.com/nMXAmlQrkb
— DW News (@dwnews) August 24, 2024