Germany Detains Suspect Over Terror Stabbing That Killed 3

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BERLIN (Worthy News) – A 26-year-old Syrian, who shares the ideology of the Islamic State group, has turned himself in after allegedly killing three people and injuring eight others with a knife at a festival in the western German city of Solingen, prosecutors say.

The suspect was identified as Issa Al H, whose last name was omitted in line with German privacy laws.

A judge at the federal court of justice in Karlsruhe ordered that he be held on suspicion of murder and membership of a terrorist organization in connection with Friday’s knife attack on Friday.

The bloodshed overshadows a festival marking Solingen’s 650th anniversary.

The German DJ Topic, from Solingen, wrote on social media that he was performing on the stage when security personnel approached him and informed him of the attack.

He was asked to continue his set “to avoid causing a mass panic,” he said. “So I kept playing even though it was incredibly hard.” He said he was told to stop 10-15 minutes later, and “since the attacker was still on the run, we hid in a nearby store while police helicopters circled above us,” he wrote.

“I still can’t believe… this was supposed to be a free festival for everyone. Really close friends of mine were there with their small kids,” he said in a video recorded in his childhood bedroom. “What’s happening to this world … my thoughts are with all the victims.”

FEDERAL PROSECUTOR

In a statement, the Office of the Federal Prosecutor said the suspect decided “to kill the largest possible number of those he considers unbelievers” at the festival based on his “radical Islamic convictions.”

Islamic State, also known as ISIS, on Saturday, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out by one of its members “in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.”

It did not immediately provide any evidence for its assertion, and it was not clear how close any relationship between the attacker and Islamic State was.

Earlier, police said they did not rule out a “terrorist motive” after the mass stabbing.

A 15-year-old boy was earlier detained on suspicion that he knew about the planned attack and failed to inform authorities, officials said. Two female witnesses told police they overheard the boy and an unknown person before the attack speaking about intentions that corresponded to the bloodshed.

The attack has added to concerns about a growing number of recognized Islamist-motivated terror attacks, with about a dozen recorded since 2000.

One of the biggest was in 2016, when a Tunisian man drove a lorry into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring dozens.

LARGE ATTACK

The attack is already stirring debate about Germany’s asylum policy ahead of regional elections in Saxony and Thuringia on September 1, when the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (ADF) is expected to do well.

The ADF linked the rise in attacks to an influx of mainly Muslim migrants, but others warned against blaming groups.

Party co-leader Alice Weidel last month claimed in a television interview that there had been “more than 15,000” knife crimes in 2023, calling it a “record” and accusing young immigrant men of being disproportionately responsible.

Yet even the leader of the center-right CDU opposition party, Friedrich Merz, said Germany should stop admitting further refugees from Syria and Afghanistan in a letter on his website entitled “Enough is enough.”

Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who has been under pressure to tackle a rise in knife violence in cities, said on Saturday he was “shocked” by the “terrible event” and stood with the terrorized city.

The festival, which was supposed to run through Sunday and draw up to 25,000 people, was canceled, as were weekend festivities in nearby towns, as Solingen plunged into mourning.

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