Attack: Three dead at city festival: Solingen in a state of emergency

The number of blue lights flashing throughout the city is a testament to the exceptional situation in Solingen: armed police officers are standing on cordoned-off streets, privacy screens have been erected, patrol cars are driving up and down. There is nothing left of the celebratory mood of the celebrations for the 650th birthday of the North Rhine-Westphalian city when NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul appears in front of the cameras, visibly moved. “Out of nowhere, someone is stabbing people at random,” says the CDU politician after visiting the cordoned-off crime scene. “We in North Rhine-Westphalia are deeply shocked and united in grief.”

Shortly after 9:30 on Friday evening, an unknown assailant killed three people with a knife and seriously injured several others during the town festival on the Fronhof – a market square in Solingen’s town centre. According to witnesses, he pulled the knife out of nowhere, the police say. Because of his targeted approach – he stabbed the victims in the neck – it must be assumed that it was an attack.

After the crime, he was able to escape in the tumult and the panic that initially spread. The manhunt for the perpetrator is ongoing, and even hours later, the security authorities are still unable to provide any reliable information about his whereabouts or appearance.

Eerie silence

Police officers and special units from all over North Rhine-Westphalia are being withdrawn to Solingen to support the emergency services there. The police in Wuppertal are calling on people to avoid Solingen’s city center via Facebook. Most people seem to be heeding the call: around two hours after the bloodshed, the city center is almost deserted. Apart from the rattling of a helicopter circling in the sky for a long time, there is silence. The atmosphere is spooky.

The police have cordoned off a large area around the crime scene. A chain of officers is securing the access routes to the street where several people lost their lives. Hours later, only a few onlookers can be seen, and journalists in particular are still waiting to cover the events. In between, the security forces are letting police, fire service and forensic vehicles pass by.

Interior Minister Reul at the crime scene

Shortly before one o’clock in the morning, Interior Minister Reul arrives in Solingen and is led to the crime scene by officials. He spends about 15 minutes getting an impression of the situation before stepping in front of the numerous waiting journalists and cameras. He can only warn against speculation about the perpetrator, says Reul. “Nothing can be said about the person or the motive yet.” There are simply no reliable facts. The man most likely acted alone. The dead are a woman and two men – according to the ministry, visitors to the festival.

After his brief statement, the minister gets into his car and most of the journalists leave the scene. The city declares the festival, originally planned to last three days, to be over.

Meanwhile, the security authorities’ intensive investigations are continuing. “We are working at full speed,” says a police spokesman. The clues and information must be evaluated like a “puzzle.”