An asylum seeker from Syria has been arrested after a mass stabbing at a “festival of diversity” in Germany on Friday evening.
At around 11 pm local time on Saturday, over 24 hours after the attack in Solingen, 26-year-old “Issa al H.” surrendered to police.
According to German tabloid Bild, he came up to a patrol car and said: “I am the one you are looking for.” He reportedly hid in a backyard to evade detection while the day-long police manhunt was underway.
During the attack, which took place in the city centre of Solingen at a “festival of diversity” as the city celebrated its 650th anniversary, three people were stabbed to death and six others were wounded, including four with life-threatening wounds.
The attacker was said to have specifically targeted his victim’s necks, leading to speculation that it was terror-related.
Der Spiegel reports that Issa al H. was born in Syria, in the city of Deir al-Zor, before coming to Germany in 2022 as an asylum seeker. Last year, he was granted protection, allowing him to remain in the country as a result of the civil war in his homeland.
He was reportedly not known to security authorities as an Islamic extremist, however, he is said to be a Sunni Muslim.
It was claimed that, according to witness statements gathered by police, the attacker had shouted out the Jihadi war cry “Allahu Akbar” as he carried out the attack on the diversity festival.
Meanwhile, Bild reported that an Islamic State (ISIS) branch claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack, saying that it was intended as revenge for “Muslims in Palestine”.
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