Three people have been killed and five were seriously injured in a knife attack at a German festival, police have said.

They added the “perpetrator” had fled the scene and was still at large, saying they believed the stabbings were carried out by a lone attacker.

Passers-by were reportedly stabbed at random in a market square where live bands were playing in the western city of Solingen at about 9.45pm local time on Friday.

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The attack took place at a festival in the western city of Solingen

Police put the number of seriously injured at five, but the region’s top security official, Herbert Reul, gave a figure of six as he visited the scene in the early hours of Saturday.

Mr Reul told reporters it was a targeted attack on human life but declined to speculate on the motive.

“None of us knows why” the attack took place, said Mr Reul.

“I can’t say anything about the motive now” and it isn’t clear who the assailant was, he also said, adding that the attacker had left the scene “relatively quickly”.

According to Sky News’ European correspondent Siobhan Robbins, a police operation in the area is still ongoing.

Fatalities in attack at Solingen city festival 24 August 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Solingen: The fire department and police are in action in the city center. There were fatalities and injuries in an attack at the city's 650th anniversary celebrations. Photo by: Thomas Banneyer/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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Pic: AP

People had gathered for the Festival of Diversity which started on Friday to mark the 650th anniversary of the 160,000-strong city.

It was supposed to run through to Sunday, with several stages in the city offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics.

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The festival has now been stopped and people have been told to leave the area, Robbins said.

Local newspaper Solinger Tageblatt quoted its reporter covering the festival as saying a party atmosphere had turned to shock within minutes, and festivalgoers were seen crying.

Solingen is in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state and bordering the Netherlands.

‘It breaks my heart’

The city’s mayor, Tim Kurzbach, said he would be praying for the victims.

Fatalities in attack at Solingen city festival
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Pic: AP

Fatalities in attack at Solingen city festival 24 August 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Solingen: Investigators are deployed in the city center. An attacker killed and seriously injured several people at the 650th anniversary celebrations of the city of Solingen on Friday evening. Photo by: Thomas Banneyer/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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Pic: AP

In a Facebook post, he said “we in Solingen are all in shock. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament”.

He added: “It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened.”

The German government has been aiming to toughen rules on knives that can be carried in public by reducing the length
allowed.

In June, a 29-year-old policeman died after being stabbed in the city of Mannheim during an attack on a right-wing demonstration.