German city mourns after violent stabbing disrupts anniversary celebrations; perpetrator remains at large….

Solingen, Germany – A festive evening in the city of Solingen turned tragic when a knife-wielding attacker killed three people and seriously injured at least five others late Friday night. The incident took place during the “Festival of Diversity,” an event marking the city’s 650th anniversary.

The attack occurred at around 9:30 p.m. on the Fronhof, a central square bustling with festivalgoers. Witnesses immediately alerted police to the horrific scene, reporting that an unknown assailant had begun indiscriminately stabbing people. Authorities believe the perpetrator acted alone, but little is known about the individual at this time.

Emergency services swiftly responded, with helicopters seen circling overhead and numerous police and ambulances converging on the scene. Despite the rapid response, the assailant managed to flee and remains at large. The police have yet to provide any information regarding the attacker’s identity or potential motives.

Philipp Müller, one of the festival organizers, took to the stage shortly after the attack to urge calm among the crowd. “Please keep your eyes open,” Müller said, addressing the stunned festivalgoers. “Unfortunately, the perpetrator hasn’t been caught.”

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister, Herbert Reul, visited the scene in the early hours of Saturday. He expressed deep concern but could not shed light on the motive behind the attack. “None of us knows why this happened,” Reul stated. “It isn’t clear who the assailant was, but the attacker left the scene relatively quickly.”

The attack has plunged the city of Solingen, which has a population of about 160,000 and is located near Cologne and Düsseldorf, into shock. Mayor Tim Kurzbach expressed his sorrow in a social media post, writing, “This evening, 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. It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened.”

Local newspaper Solinger Tageblatt reported that the festival’s atmosphere changed drastically within minutes of the attack, with many attendees left in tears. “The atmosphere is spooky,” said Celine Derikartz, a reporter covering the festival. “The party mood turned to shock almost instantly.”

The city has since canceled the remainder of the festival, which was initially scheduled to run through Sunday, featuring live music, cabaret, and acrobatics across several stages in the city’s central streets.

This incident adds to growing concerns about knife violence in Germany. Recent months have seen an uptick in such attacks, prompting Germany’s Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, to propose stricter weapons laws. A notable incident in May saw an Afghan immigrant fatally stab a police officer during an altercation with a group opposing “political Islam.”

This story was first reported by the Associated Press.