Authorities are continuing to search for the perpetrator of a stabbing attack that left three people dead in western Germany.
ISIL (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for a stabbing attack in Solingen, Germany, which left three people dead and eight injured, the group’s Amaq news site reported.
In a statement released Saturday, the group said the perpetrators were “Islamic State soldiers” who targeted Christians and carried out the attack out of “revenge against Palestinians and Muslims around the world.”
The attack occurred on Friday evening as thousands gathered in Solingen’s central square to mark the city’s 650th anniversary on Friday. The victims included a woman and two men.
Markus Kaspers, from the prosecutor’s office’s anti-terrorism department, told a news conference Saturday that authorities had not yet identified the perpetrator.
“So far we don’t know the motive, but given the overall circumstances,” Caspers said he could not rule out terrorism, but he did not give further details.
A 15-year-old boy was arrested early Saturday morning. Caspers said he was arrested after two female witnesses contacted police. They heard a conversation between the boy and an unknown person before the attack, and the conversation spoke of intent consistent with the events that followed.
German news agency dpa reported that police, including special forces, also raided a refugee camp in the city center of Solingen.
“We have received a tip-off and police are currently carrying out investigations,” a police spokesperson said.
On Friday night, Torsten Fliess, the German police’s chief of operations, said it was a “huge challenge” to piece together the available evidence and witness statements to build a complete picture.
Police warned people to remain vigilant until the culprit is found.
German Interior Minister Nancy Peiser visited Solingen on Saturday evening. She said the government would do everything possible to support the city and its residents.
“We will not allow such a horrific attack to divide our society,” she said, appearing alongside North Rhine-Westphalia State Governor Hendrik Wust and Interior Minister Herbert Reil.
Wust described the attack as “an act of terrorism against the security and freedom of this country.” But Faeser, the country’s top security official, did not classify it as a terrorist attack.
At its peak, ISIL controlled vast swathes of Iraq and Syria and carried out deadly attacks around the world. But the group suffered a territorial defeat in 2017, and its brutal rule collapsed after the Iraqi government and various political parties lost all areas they had controlled in the Syrian civil war.
The group has claimed responsibility for attacks it did not participate in, including a mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017.
In Solingen, police blocked a square on Saturday, while passersby placed candles and flowers outside the blockade.
Authorities have also set up an online portal where witnesses can upload videos and other information related to the attacks, and churches in Solingen have opened their doors to provide spaces for prayer and emergency pastoral care.
“We are shocked and saddened,” Solingen Mayor Tim Oliver Kurzbach told reporters.
The Diversity Festival, celebrating the 650th anniversary of the founding of Solingen, was scheduled to start on Friday and run through Sunday, with several stages set up in the city centre offering live music, cabaret and acrobatics.
Authorities have now cancelled the remainder of the festival’s events.
