Minister gives new details: Solingen: Suspect bought knives on the day of the attack

The suspected Solingen attacker only bought the knife in a local shop on the day of the attack. According to dpa information, NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) reported on Thursday in a non-public meeting of the Interior Committee of the Düsseldorf state parliament. Meanwhile, the police are again looking for the suspect’s second cell phone.

As Reul reportedly stated, there are video recordings from the store where the suspect bought the knife. In the pictures, the alleged perpetrator can also be seen with a cell phone, which is still being sought. An area in Solingen was also cleared for this purpose on Thursday. A cell phone that had already been discovered was destroyed, said Reul.

The cell phone, which was apparently intentionally damaged, was found in a meadow. Investigators are also publicly searching for the second smartphone and a wristwatch on the NRW police search portal.

In the confidential round of domestic politicians in the state parliament, the minister also revealed new details about a confessional video that was distributed via channels of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS): The video was actually filmed in Solingen. It has now been deleted by the security authorities and can no longer be found. How the video file got from the attacker to IS is still being determined.

In the suspected Islamist-motivated attack in Solingen, an attacker killed three people with a knife and injured eight others at a city festival almost five weeks ago on the evening of August 23rd. The suspected attacker is the 26-year-old Syrian Issa Al H., who is in custody on suspicion of murder.