German police hunt for assailant in festival stabbing that killed 3

German police hunt for assailant in festival stabbing that killed 3


Police officers secure access to the crime scene after the Solingen city festival on August 24, 2024 in Solingen, Germany. 

Andreas Rentz | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Police hunted on Saturday for an unknown assailant hours after he killed three people and wounded others in a stabbing attack at a festival in the western German city of Solingen.

Eight were injured, five of them seriously, the police said in a statement early on Saturday. That was up from the four serious injuries the police reported earlier.

“Both victims and witnesses are currently being questioned. The police are currently searching for the perpetrator with a large team,” police said.

The incident occurred around 9:40 p.m. local time on Friday, when the man attacked multiple people with a knife, the police said.

The perpetrator aimed specifically for people’s throats, the police added. They could not provide further details or a motive.

“Our security authorities are doing everything they can to catch the perpetrator and investigate the background of the attack,” Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, said in a post on X.

The attack occurred at the Fronhof, a market square in Solingen where live bands were playing. It was during a festival marking the 650th anniversary of the city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which borders the Netherlands.

The German musician who goes by the name Topic said he was playing on a nearby stage when the incident occurred. He was told about what happened but was asked to continue “to avoid causing a mass panic attack”, he posted on Instagram.

He was eventually told to stop, and “since the attacker was still on the run, we hid in a nearby store while police helicopters circled above us,” Topic wrote.

Authorities canceled the remainder of the weekend festival.

Fatal stabbings and shootings are relatively uncommon in Germany. The government said earlier this month it wanted to toughen rules on knives that can be carried in public by reducing the maximum length allowed.

In June, a 29-year-old policeman died after being stabbed in Mannheim during an attack on a right-wing demonstration. A stabbing attack on a train in 2021 injured several.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister, Herbert Reul, visited the scene early on Saturday. He told reporters it was a targeted attack on human life but declined to speculate on the motive.



Source

European markets set to kick off Monday on a flat note, after record highs last week
World

European markets set to kick off Monday on a flat note, after record highs last week

The City of London financial district at sunrise. Alexander Spatari | Moment | Getty Images LONDON — European stocks are expected to open in flat territory on Monday as regional markets look for momentum after a series of positive sessions last week. The U.K.’s FTSE index, Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC 40 and Italy’s FTSE MIB are […]

Read More
Who is Sanae Takaichi? The first woman set to helm the Japanese government
World

Who is Sanae Takaichi? The first woman set to helm the Japanese government

Sanae Takaichi listens to a question after visiting the Yasukuni shrine to honour the war dead durig the shrine’s spring festival in Tokyo on April 23, 2015. Toshifumi Kitamura | Afp | Getty Images Having won the presidency of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Sanae Takaichi is on the verge of becoming the country’s first […]

Read More
U.S. tech giants hit pause on India data center deals under weight of trade uncertainty
World

U.S. tech giants hit pause on India data center deals under weight of trade uncertainty

Key Points U.S. technology companies are delaying their decisions to lease large data centers in India. New deals for data centers have been on hold for over two months, a source told CNBC. Hyperscalers may revisit their plans within the next three to six months. U.S. technology companies are delaying their decisions to lease large data centers in India, jittery from […]

Read More