Several dead after knifeman attacks people at random at a festival in Germany

At least three people have been killed and eight wounded in a mass attack on a festival in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

As live bands were playing in Fronhof, a busy public square in Solingen, a man with a knife attacked visitors in front of the main stage at about 9.45pm.

At least three people died, including one woman from the city in western Germany and two men from Düsseldorf. All were stabbed in the neck.

Of the eight injured, five suffered serious wounds, police confirmed to the German tabloid Bild.

‘The attacker randomly stabbed people with a knife,’ a police spokesperson said.

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The perpetrator remains on the run, though his appearance remains unclear. ‘We currently have no clue as to his whereabouts,’ the police spokesperson added.

The search has been ongoing since early this morning, with the force creating a portal for anyone to submit tips.

Eyewitness Lars Breitzke said he knew something was wrong when he saw a singer on stage with a strange expression on their face.

‘And then a person fell over just a meter away from me,’ he told local outlet Solinger Tageblatt.

One of the festival organisers, Philipp Muller, took to the stage to inform attendees that emergency workers were fighting for the lives of nine people.

Müller told reporters: ‘People are shocked, but left the square peacefully.’

Heavily armed police swarmed the city of fewer than 160,000 people, with locals told to stay inside their homes overnight.

Mayor Tim Kurzbach said on Facebook: ‘This evening we are all in Solingen in shock, horror and great sadness. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now we have dead and injured people to mourn.

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‘It breaks my heart that there was an attack on our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we have lost. I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives.’

North Rhine-Westphalia interior minister, Herbert Reul, at a press conference just before 1.20am: ‘You don’t want to believe what you see here at the crime scene. It is depressing;

‘My thoughts are with the relatives of the victims and the injured. We can only pray that the seriously injured will survive.’

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The festival marking the city’s 650th anniversary, the ‘Festival of Destiny’, was cancelled. With cabaret, arts and crafts and acrobatics planned, the event began on Friday and was supposed to run until Sunday.

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Several dead after knifeman attacks people at random at a festival in Germany

Several dead after knifeman attacks people at random at a festival in Germany

Several dead after knifeman attacks people at random at a festival in Germany

Several dead after knifeman attacks people at random at a festival in Germany

Several dead after knifeman attacks people at random at a festival in Germany