Three people were Friday killed and five left seriously injured, in a knife attack at a German festival, police have said.
The “perpetrator” fled the scene and is still at large, officers said. They believe the stabbings were carried out by a lone attacker.
Passers-by were reportedly stabbed at random in a market square where live bands were playing in the western city of Solingen at about 9.45pm local time on Friday.
Police put the number of wounded at eight, saying five were seriously injured.
“Both victims and witnesses are currently being questioned,” officers said. “The police are currently searching for the perpetrator with a large team.”
The region’s top security official, Herbert Reul, who visited the scene in the early hours of Saturday, told reporters it was a targeted attack on human life but declined to speculate on the motive.
“None of us knows why,” he said. “I can’t say anything about the motive now.” He said the attacker left the scene “relatively quickly”.
According to Sky News’ European correspondent Siobhan Robbins, a police operation in the area is still ongoing.
People had gathered for the Festival of Diversity which started on Friday to mark the 650th anniversary of the 160,000-strong city.
The event was supposed to run through to Sunday, with several stages in the city offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics.
The festival has now been stopped and people have been told to leave the area, Robbins said.
Local newspaper Solinger Tageblatt quoted its reporter covering the festival as saying a party atmosphere had turned to shock within minutes, and festival goers were seen crying.
Solingen is in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state and bordering the Netherlands.
‘It breaks my heart’
The city’s mayor, Tim Kurzbach, said he would be praying for the victims.
In a Facebook post, he said “we in Solingen are all in shock. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament”.
He added: “It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened.”
The German government has been aiming to toughen rules on knives that can be carried in public by reducing the length allowed.
In June, a 29-year-old policeman died after being stabbed in the city of Mannheim during an attack on a right-wing demonstration.
By Sky News
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