The Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for stabbings the night before in Germany that killed three people and wounded eight others. Without providing evidence, the Guardian reports, the group posted on its Telegram account that the attack was carried out by one of its members "in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere." The statement said the attacker, who is being sought by German authorities, is a "soldier of the Islamic State" who targeted Christians, per the AP. Four people remained hospitalized Saturday with life-threatening wounds, per CNN.
Police said they do not know the killer's identity, which way he fled the festival in Solingen, or how he left the area. Checkpoints were set up on roads, and helicopters were deployed in the search. A 15-year-old boy was arrested, suspected of knowing the attack was planned but not telling police about it. "He is at this point only suspected of failing to report a crime," a prosecutor said Saturday. Police said a review of images of the attacks, which lasted only minutes, showed the killer aimed for his victims' necks. He appeared to choose people at random to stab, police said.
Police warned residents to stay vigilant. The rest of the weekend festival marking Solingen's 650th birthday was canceled, as were related events nearby. Solingen is known for the knives and scissors it produces, per the New York Times. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser recently proposed a law to limit knives that can be carried in public to a length of about 2.4 inches, rather than the current 4.7. "We will not allow that such an awful attack divides our society," Faeser said Saturday in Solingen. Witnesses to the attack included:
- A DJ: Topic, who was performing in his hometown on Friday night, said security personnel told him about the attack while he was onstage. He posted that he was asked to continue his set "to avoid causing a mass panic," adding, "So I kept playing even though it was incredibly hard." After about 15 minutes, he was told to stop. The DJ and others then hid in a store.
story continues below
- A security worker: Sascha Mosig, 37, was on his first night of employment at a security company. He said a group of people suddenly began running in his direction, some covered in blood, and one screamed, "Knife!" When Mosig went to the main square to help, he told the newspaper Die Zeit, he encountered bodies on the ground and people in shock. "Blood was everywhere," he said. "You know these images from war. This was one."
(More
stabbing attack stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
