German police have reported that a 26-year-old Syrian man is in custody after a knife attack in the city of Solingen that killed three people and injured eight. Law enforcement officials are also investigating possible links between the suspect and the Islamic State terrorist organization. Reuters writes about it, UNN reports.
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The incident, as well as the responsibility claimed by the group, has raised concerns among some politicians, who have called for increased security measures, stricter gun control, harsher penalties for violent crimes, and restrictions on immigration.
The attack took place on Friday evening during a festival in the market square, where live bands were performing in honor of the 650th anniversary of Solingen. Grieving citizens created a makeshift memorial near the site of the tragedy.
The suspect surrendered to police late Saturday night and confessed to the crime, Düsseldorf police and prosecutors said in a joint statement released Sunday.
The German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office identified the Syrian as Issa Al H., without specifying his last name due to German privacy laws. The suspect is considered a member of the Islamic State.
According to the prosecutor's office, due to his radical Islamist beliefs, the suspect tried to kill as many people as possible, whom he considered non-believers, by stabbing them numerous times in the neck and upper body.
Friedrich Merz, a leading politician who heads the opposition, center-right CDU party, said the country should stop accepting refugees from Syria and Afghanistan. “That's enough!” he wrote in a letter on his website.