Knife attack at city festival: The anxious hours of Solingen

After breathless hours all over the city, small candle flames are fighting to keep from going out in front of a church in Solingen. It has suddenly become very cold, a cold wind is blowing, and this in August. People keep coming and lighting a new candle. And on a large sign it says “Why?”.

On Friday evening, three people were killed in a knife attack a few steps away at the Solingen city festival, the “Festival of Diversity”. What happened in the hours that followed – and in part what didn’t happen – changed Solingen and its population of around 160,000. It was not until late on Saturday evening that a man suspected of being the perpetrator was arrested. A 26-year-old Syrian. He was said to have been covered in blood.

On Sunday morning, Philipp Müller is standing next to the crime scene, which is still cordoned off, organizing a festival that no longer exists. Müller helped organize the 650th anniversary celebrations that Solingen wanted to celebrate. He received a call on Friday evening. He saw people being resuscitated. He saw dead people.

First party, then crime scene

“I had the images in my head all day yesterday,” he says. And, he’s honest: he also drank a little alcohol. Now – as “idiotic” as that sounds – he’s devoting himself to organizing. There are still instruments on the stage where the attack took place. He would like to give them back to the band. Even the stage lights are still on. “We offered to turn them off. But the police say it’s a crime scene,” says Müller. Forensic investigation – he understands that. But he also says: “It’s all dystopian.”

Since Friday evening, Solingen has been living through a nightmare. After the knife attack, the perpetrator disappears and is not found for a while. There was no police video surveillance. The man initially remains a phantom, which makes the situation very tense and diffuse.

NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) arrived on the night of the attack. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) demanded a harsh punishment for the perpetrator. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) arrived on Saturday, together with NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and – again – Reul. She called the attack “disgusting” and said: “In times like these, we will not allow ourselves to be divided, but will stand together and will not allow such a terrible attack to divide society.”

The people of Solingen asked themselves: Can I still go outside?

At this point, however, the population is not only worried about a split, but also about a concrete danger. There is relatively little that the authorities can say to the unsettled population. Is there a confirmed, publishable photo of the attacker? No. What was the motive? Difficult to say. The comments on social networks are already pouring in.

Other cities are canceling their festivals. Tension is running high in Solingen. Many people are simply asking themselves: Can I still go outside? Is the perpetrator still in town? Or has he long since disappeared, which could be a possibility. Because the police can’t find him.

Police operations are reported across the country. On Saturday evening, the police stormed a refugee shelter in Solingen. But it was only later that night that there was a slight sigh of relief. A man turned himself in and said he was the perpetrator. He was not caught in Berlin, Hamburg or abroad – but just a few hundred meters from the crime scene. Again in the middle of Solingen.

As “Spiegel” reports, the man came to Germany at the end of 2022 and applied for asylum. This information was confirmed to the German Press Agency. His deportation failed last year. The terrorist militia IS claims responsibility for the act.

Fear is spreading

Fear and anger are building up in the city. “Solingen is in the headlines a lot at the moment,” says a resident resignedly. In March, four people died in an attic apartment in a fire that was allegedly started by a former tenant. In June, a man dropped a bottle containing a substance in front of a Solingen shop, causing an explosion. In the collective memory is an arson attack in 1993 in which five women and girls of Turkish origin were murdered by right-wing extremists.

None of this should really play a role in the 650th anniversary celebrations. Solingen is trying to present itself in a positive light. It calls itself – of all things – “Germany’s Blade City” because it has a tradition of making blades, knives and scissors, especially rapiers and swords in the Middle Ages. The city is also home to the “German Blade Museum”. How can we deal with this?

But it is not only Solingen that will have to come to terms with the latest events; it is also fueling political discussions across Germany. Knife attacks have increased, Federal Minister of the Interior Faeser recently announced stricter gun laws, but the FDP has so far rejected the proposals. And in a week there will be state elections in Saxony and Thuringia. Migration is already a constant topic.

“Now everything is different”

On Sunday morning, there was supposed to be a celebratory service in Solingen to mark the city’s 650th birthday. This was turned into a memorial service at short notice, with many people crowding in. “Now everything is different,” summarizes Pastor Friederike Höroldt. “We feel our helplessness and our powerlessness these days.”

However, festival co-organizer Philipp Müller does not want to accept helplessness. When asked whether there could be another celebration next year, given the history, he said: “Yes, of course! The same applies here: after the festival is before the festival. I’ll be there as hard as I can.” He will now talk to everyone involved. “Then we’ll see if we can celebrate here again next August.”