Three people have been killed and five others seriously injured in a knife attack at a music festival in Solingen, Germany.
Witnesses alerted police at around 9.40pm on Friday night (August 23) after the attacker appeared to stab multiple people indiscriminately with a knife on a central square in the western German city.
Police have said they believe the stabbings were carried out by a lone attacker, who then fled the scene and is still at large.
People had been gathering in the centre of the city with live bands playing as part of the Festival of Diversity, which was organised to mark the 650th anniversary of Solingen in North Rhine-Westphalia, around 15 miles east of Dusseldorf.
Local authorities have said, in addition to the three deceased, a total of eight further people have been wounded, five of them seriously.
“Both victims and witnesses are currently being questioned,” they said. “The police are currently searching for the perpetrator with a large team.”
People were asked to leave the Fronhof market area in the aftermath of the attacks, with emergency crews attending to those injured and roads being shut down,
Local security forces have deployed 40 tactical vehicles in the hunt for the suspect (via Bild), with the manhunt now extending beyond Solingen.
The mayor of the city, Tim-Oliver Kurzbach posted online that the city was in “shock, horror and great grief”.
“We all wanted to celebrate our town’s anniversary together and now we have to mourn the dead and injured,” he wrote.
He went on to thank the emergency services for their work at the scene. “It tears my heart apart that there was an attack on our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we have lost. I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives,” he said.
Security officials have said they believe it was a targeted attack on human life but declined to speculate on the possible motive. The attacker is thought to have left the scene quickly after the stabbings.
The Festival of Diversity had been set to run until Sunday with 25,000 people expected to attend each night, but it has now been cancelled.
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