The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed in its Telegram channel on Saturday that one of its members was behind the deadly mass stabbing at the 650th anniversary celebration of the city of Solingen, Germany, which left three dead and eight injured on Friday night.
“The perpetrator of the attack on a group of the Christians in the town of Solingen in Germany yesterday is a soldier of the Islamic State and he carried out the attack in revenge for the Muslims in Palestine and every place,” the statement read.
It is unclear if the perpetrator was a member of the group, and authorities are still searching for suspects.
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German police arrested a 15-year-old who may have spoken to the perpetrator on Saturday morning, according to the Solinger Tageblatt.
On Friday night, a person began stabbing festival goers, leaving at least three dead and eight injured—four seriously.
Lars Breitzke, who was attending the festival, told the Tageblatt that “a person fell over just a meter away from me.” Breitzke said people initially thought the person was drunk but then more bodies began dropping—in pools of blood.
The suspect then fled the scene, spurring a manhunt. On Saturday morning, police arrested a 15-year-old, whom they accused of “failing to report a crime,” allegedly having advance knowledge of the stabbing.
However, police still have not issued a description as to what the perpetrator looked like, as they have no “core description.” “We can only give a description of the perpetrator if we have one,” police spokesperson Markus Caspers told the Solinger Tageblatt.
German law enforcement has yet to rule out terrorism as the motive, as two witnesses reportedly heard a conversation about the stabbing before it took place, but only reported it after.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, stated on Saturday, “Brutal violent acts are being carried out with knives that lead to the worst injuries or can be deadly,” as a part of their bid to ban blades longer than six centimeters.
“We want a general ban on dangerous switchblades and will present the relevant amendments to weapons laws soon,” Faeser added.
Read it at Reuters
