The town of Solingen in western Germany saw the mass stabbing of 11 people yesterday. The victims and the public were left in utter shock and vacated the crime scene after the authorities’ directions. Solingen, a town in the populated state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is situated around 25 kms away from both Dusseldorf and Cologne. The perpetrator, who is still at large, has caused the launch of a “manhunt” where a good number of police officers have been deployed. A wide area of the town has been restricted through cordoning.
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Casualties reported
Solingen was celebrating the 650th anniversary of its founding. The celebration was to be a three-day event starting on Friday, lasting through the weekend. The “festival of diversity” was expected to bring in a footfall of about 75,000 through the three days. It took place in the town square of Fronhof where 10,000 citizens had gathered to enjoy the live music and other festivities.
The police said that they started receiving several phone calls around 9:40 p.m., reporting the stabbing of people in the market square. Philipp Meuller, one of the festival organizers, told a local newspaper called the Solinger Tageblatt that he announced that the festival was cancelled. He was seen addressing the crowd at the festival, informing them about how many were attacked and how the assailant was still at large; he warned the crowd to be calm but careful while vacating the place.
One of the witnesses recounted his experience. He realized that something was wrong when he saw a panic-stricken look on the singer’s face on the stage. When he saw someone falling to the floor, he thought that they were inebriated. However, when more people fell, he saw the pools of blood.
Town Mayor Tim Kurzbach took to Facebook to express his “horror” and “shock”. He offered his condolences for the victims and their families. The town had gathered in revelry, but would now spend days mourning the deceased and injured, he said.
Police launches “manhunt”
The attacker went around stabbing pedestrians at random, specifically targeting their throats which caused many fatal injuries. Eleven people were stabbed yesterday, three of whom succumbed to their wounds. The number of people seriously injured was reported to be four yesterday. However, that number rose to five today. The police had scoured the area for the assailant yesterday, who is still at large.
The police have cautioned the citizens against travelling to the Fornhof area. Forty tactical vehicles have been deployed for the purpose of finding the attacker, on whom the police have very little information. All that is assumed to be known about the perpetrator is that he was an unaccompanied male. The Special Task Force is hunting for the man, whose appearance remains unknown. Helicopters were seen hovering over the crime scene yesterday. While the authorities have confirmed that it was a targeted attack on human life, they have refused to comment on the possible motive.
This attack comes at a time when the German government has been looking to restrict the carrying of knives in public places. Germany also saw similar stabbing incidents in May this year that claimed the life of a 29-year-old police officer along with few other people. A knife attack in 2021 also injured a number of people on a train.
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