Germany is once again plunged into the nightmare of attacks. A man armed with a knife attacked several participants in the celebrations for the 650th anniversary of the founding of the city of Solingen , in the western part of the country, killing three people and wounding eight others, five of whom are in very serious condition .

He then fled while the police launched a massive manhunt, which is still ongoing . This morning there was an arrest, the agents of the special commando of the Sek stopped a suspect thanks to the testimony of a woman who recognized him as he was already suspected of another crime. He is a very young boy , found at his parents' home, investigators are trying to understand if he is in some way connected to the massacre, the perpetrator of which is still wanted.

According to initial reports, the attack took place around 9:45 p.m.: some witnesses reported seeing a man, who appeared to be Arab, brandish a knife and randomly stab passers-by in Fronhof, a market square in the center of Solingen where there is a stage for live music, set up for the Festival.

The area of the attack was immediately cordoned off and several heavily armed police officers intervened. Numerous ambulances were mobilized while the authorities asked the Festival participants to leave the area immediately and residents were ordered to stay indoors and avoid the city center.

The episode, the police explain, " has been classified as an attack, but we cannot yet speak of terrorism . We only know that the person who attacked was a man. And the fact that he struck at random, in the midst of the melee, does not allow us to speculate on the terrorist hypothesis for now. At the moment we are questioning dozens of people who were at the town festival. The investigations are ongoing and we do not yet have a definitive identikit of the wanted person ."

Initial reports from local media speak of shock among those present. Philipp Müller, one of the co-organizers of the festival, explained that the rescue services intervened and that there were fears for the lives of the nine injured. Thousands of visitors followed the request to leave the square calmly and without panicking. "People are shocked, but peaceful," said Müller. A journalist from the Solinger Tageblatt described "an eerie atmosphere."

The mayor of Solingen, Tim Kurzbach, was also shocked. "We all wanted to celebrate the anniversary of our city together and now we have to mourn the dead and injured. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we have lost. I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives ," the mayor wrote on Facebook. The Festival was supposed to end on Sunday, but all events have been canceled.

(Unioneonline/L)

© Riproduzione riservata