Authorities have apprehended an individual believed to be responsible for the stabbing incident during a festival in Germany.
A 56-year-old female and two males, aged 56 and 67, lost their lives as a result of the assault in the city of Solingen on Friday. Eight individuals sustained injuries, four of which were severe, while “numerous others have experienced emotional trauma.”
Investigators stated that the assailant seemed to have intentionally targeted the throats of the victims.
The internal affairs minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, informed the German public broadcasting network ARD on Saturday evening: “We have been pursuing a credible lead throughout the day.”
“The individual we’ve been searching for has been taken into custody just recently.”
Mr. Reul further noted that the police possess “clues” and have gathered “pieces of evidence.”
The suspect is currently in police custody undergoing interrogation.
Pic: Reuters
Earlier on Saturday, a 15-year-old male was apprehended under suspicion of not “reporting an imminent crime.” Still, law enforcement and prosecutors announced at a news conference in the afternoon that there were no additional suspicions against him.
Law enforcement also executed another arrest related to the incident.
This arrest was made following an operation to access a facility housing asylum seekers in Solingen as part of their investigation.
Tributes are being left at the scene. Pic: Reuters
The Islamic State has asserted responsibility for the assault but has not provided immediate evidence to substantiate its claim.
A security source informed the IS-associated media platform Amaq Agency that the suspect “was a combatant from the Islamic State, executing this act as retribution against Muslims in Palestine and everywhere else.”
Chief of police operations Thorsten Fleiss stated that officers were conducting numerous searches and investigations throughout North Rhine-Westphalia.
Compiling the available evidence and witness statements to form a comprehensive understanding of the situation was described as a “significant challenge.”
Mr Fleiss also mentioned that law enforcement discovered several knives; however, he could not confirm whether any had been utilized as weapons by the assailant during the incident.
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