A suspect in German police custody following a stabbing rampage in the city of Solingen that killed three people and injured eight is a 26-year-old Syrian man as authorities look into his possible links with Islamic State.
The incident, along with the militant group's claim of responsibility, sparked concern among some politicians who urged enhanced security, tighter curbs on weapons, stiffer punishment for violent crimes, and limits to immigration.
The attack occurred during a festival on Friday evening in the Fronhof, a market square, where live bands were playing to celebrate Solingen's 650-year history. Mourners have made a makeshift memorial near the scene.
The suspect turned himself in late on Saturday and admitted to the crime, Duesseldorf police and prosecutors said in a joint statement early on Sunday.
"The involvement of this person is currently under intensive investigation," they said.
Two men, aged 56 and 67, and a 56-year-old woman were stabbed to death with Chancellor Olaf Scholz describing the attack as a "horrific act".
The seriously injured in the attack were all reported to be on the mend on Sunday.
Friedrich Merz, a prominent politician who leads the opposition, centre-right CDU party, urged that the country stopped admitting further refugees from Syria and Afghanistan.
"It's enough!" he said in a letter on his website.
The suspect came from a home for refugees in Solingen that was searched on Saturday, North Rhine-Westphalia's interior minister, Herbert Reul, said.
Der Spiegel magazine, citing unidentified security sources, said the suspected had moved to Germany late in 2022 and sought asylum.
German federal prosecutors have taken over the case and are investigating whether the suspect was a member of Islamic State, a spokesperson for the prosecutors said.
The group described the man who carried out the attack as a "soldier of the Islamic State" in a statement on its Telegram account on Saturday.
It did not provide evidence for this assertion and details of the suspect's possible membership of the group were not immediately known.
Hendrik Wuest, premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia where Solingen is located, on Saturday described the attack as an act of terror.
Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has said there have been around a dozen Islamist-motivated attacks since 2000. One of the biggest was in 2016, when a Tunisian drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring dozens.
"The risk of jihadist-motivated acts of violence remains high. The Federal Republic of Germany remains a direct target of terrorist organisations," the BKA said in the report earlier this year.
Solingen, well known for its knife manufacturing industry, is a city of some 165,000 people.
Fatal stabbings and shootings are relatively rare in Germany. The government said earlier this month it wanted to toughen rules on knives that can be carried in public by reducing the maximum length allowed.
In June, a 29-year-old policeman was fatally stabbed in Mannheim during an attack on a right-wing demonstration.
Friday night's attack comes ahead of three state elections next month in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, in which the anti-immigrant far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has a chance of winning.
Agencies
