3 killed, 5 injured in attack at Solingen festival celebrations in Germany

DUSSELDORF, Germany (dpa) — Three people have been killed and at least five seriously injured in a knife attack at the 650th anniversary celebrations of the city of Solingen in western Germany, according to the police.

The attacker is still on the run, a police spokeswoman in Dusseldorf said shortly after midnight.

Police sources said that the case was no longer classified as a rampage, but as an attack.

Armed officers are currently at the scene and have cordoned off large areas of the city and set up privacy screens.

A man started stabbing people indiscriminately at around 9:45 p.m. local time on Friday according to a report, in Fronhof, a marketplace in the city center where a stage was set up for live music.

The festival was called to a halt and sirens could be heard around the city center. There were helicopters overhead and ambulances at the scene.

Thousands of people were leaving the area, after the authorities called on residents to remain calm and go home, the local Solinger Tageblatt newspaper reported.

“People left the square in shock, but calmly,” said Philipp Müller, one of the festival’s co-organizers, according to a report in the Solinger Tageblatt newspaper.

A reporter for the newspaper called the atmosphere “frightening,” saying it had changed within the space of a few minutes from an exuberant celebratory mood to shock, with tearful festival-goers passing her.

The state interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, is at the scene of the crime to assess the situation as emergency workers respond to the incident.

Solingen’s Mayor Tim Kurzbach expressed his shock following the incident.

“Tonight all of us in Solingen are in shock, fright and great sadness,” he wrote on the city’s Facebook page.

“We all wanted to celebrate our city anniversary together and now we have to mourn the dead and injured,” he said.

“I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives,” he wrote.

He also expressed his sympathies to those that witnessed the attack, before thanking emergency services and the police for their service.

“I ask that if you believe, pray with me and if you don’t then hope with me,” the mayor said.