German police hunting attacker who killed at least 3 in Solingen

German police continued their search on Saturday for the assailant responsible for a fatal stabbing in the western city of Solingen that left three dead and eight injured, reported dpa.

The attack, which drew condemnation from across Germany, occurred as the city was celebrating its 650th anniversary.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the attack a "terrible crime" and urged that the perpetrator be severely punished. He also pledged assistance to the city.

"We cannot accept something like this in our society and will never grow accustomed to it. We have to act with the full rigour of the law," Scholz said during an event in Stahnsdorf in Brandenburg near Berlin.

"We will also assist the city and its people with everything at our disposal," he said. "We are anxiously hoping that the lives of those injured will be saved, and stand with the relatives of the injured and deceased and with the entire city," he said.

"The attack in Solingen is a terrible event that has greatly shocked me. An attacker has brutally killed a number of people," Scholz posted separately on X.

He added that he had spoken on the phone to Solingen Mayor Tim Kurzbach. "We mourn the victims and stand by their relatives," Scholz said.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the security authorities were doing all in their power to find the perpetrator and to clear up the motive for the crime.

The local police in the state of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) were receiving the support of the federal government, she posted on X, adding that she was in constant contact with NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul.

"The brutal attack on the city festival in Solingen has shocked us deeply. We mourn the people who have been torn from life in a terrible way," Faeser said.

The attack on Friday evening left one woman and two men dead and injured a further eight, five of them seriously, the authorities said. No information was given about the identity of the injured victims' or their current condition.

By midday Saturday, the assailant had still not been found. A dpa reporter at the scene said police special units were searching the city.

Police warned residents who observed anything suspicious not to act on their own initiative but to call the police emergency number.

"We currently have no clues as to his whereabouts," said a police spokesman. There was also no description of the suspect.

The attacker had managed to escape amid the panic that spread after the stabbing, said a spokesman for the NRW Interior Ministry. North Rhine Westphalia is Germany's most populous state.

"I think that's our huge problem. We don't have much information about the perpetrator yet," Alexander Kresta, spokesman for the Wuppertal police said.

According to the police, the perpetrator appears to have attacked passers-by at random. The Interior Ministry said, however, that the victims's necks had been deliberately targeted.

The attack began around around 9:45 pm (1945 GMT) on Friday, the police said. It took place at a marketplace in the city centre where a stage was set up for live music for a Festival of Diversity event.

The crime took place directly in front of the stage, according to a dpa reporter. Reul arrived at the crime scene and was visibly shocked.

"Out of nowhere, someone stabs people indiscriminately," said Reul. "We in North Rhine Westphalia are deeply shocked and united in grief."

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 interviewing them to get more precise information."

Due to eyewitness reports, investigators believed that the attacker acted alone, Kresta said.

Police had asked members of the public to upload any footage from the incident through a dedicated online portal. The city of Solingen had also set up a hotline, as families feared for relatives.

The German Football League (DFL) has recommended to its players that they wear black armbands during their matches on Saturday. There are six Bundesliga matches and four 2nd division games scheduled. Two of the games - onein Dortmund and another in Cologne and within 60 kilometres of Solingen

It is not known whether there will be additional security measures for the matches in NRW, where Dortmund and Cologne are located.

The site of the attack was at the Festival of Diversity, which began on Friday to mark the 650th anniversary of Solingen and was due to continue through to Sunday.

All the events planned for Saturday and Sunday had been cancelled, the city said.

News Agency Xinhua adds: German police made a second arrest on Saturday over a deadly knife attack in the western German city of Solingen on Friday, a spokesperson from the police said.

The arrest followed a police operation at a home for refugees in Solingen, the spokesperson said, without providing more details on the individual or the connection to the incident.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Saturday for the attack that killed three people and injured eight others. The police didn't provide any immediate response to the claims.

A 15-year-old teenager was arrested on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, the Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the knife attack in the western German city of Solingen.

Three people have been killed and eight wounded in the attack on Friday evening at an event marking the 650th anniversary of the city's founding.

The militant group said in a statement on its Telegram account that the attack was carried out by one of its members "in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere".

The German police did not immediately provide any evidence to support the claims, and it was not clear how close the attackers were to the Islamic State.