German prosecutors name and charge suspect after three people were killed at festival
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German prosecutors have named the man suspected of carrying out a knife attack at a festival that killed three people and injured eight.
The Syrian national Issa Al H is accused of being “a member of a terrorist organisation abroad”, saying he shares the “ideology of Islamic State” (IS).
He has also been charged with three counts of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm in eight cases.
A 56-year-old woman and two men, aged 56 and 67, died following the attack in the city of Solingen on Friday.
The 26-year-old, who had applied for asylum, handed himself in to police following a large-scale manhunt involving several police forces and special units after the incident.
Officers in Dusseldorf said the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack”, adding he has been arrested before.
They also said the attacker appeared to have deliberately aimed for his victims’ throats.
The suspect, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, was taken from the police station in Solingen to make a first appearance before a judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe earlier today.
The IS has already claimed responsibility for the attack, with a security source telling the IS-affiliated media arm Amaq Agency that the suspect “was a soldier from the Islamic State, and he carried it out as revenge against Muslims in Palestine and everywhere”.
The group did not provide any evidence supporting its claims.
Police were alerted by witnesses shortly after 9.30pm local time on Friday, to reports of several people being wounded in a central square, the Fronhof, during a community festival.
The Festival of Diversity, marking the city’s 650th anniversary, began on Friday and was supposed to continue over the weekend, with several stages in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret, and acrobatics.
DJ and music producer Topic, who was performing at the festival, said he was on stage and asked to continue performing “to avoid mass panic” as the incident unfolded.
The event has now been cancelled.
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