Islamic State claims responsibility for German festival stabbings
nme.comThe stabbings took place at around 9:40pm on Friday night (August 23) at the Festival of Diversity in Solingen in western Germany.
Early police reports said they believed the stabbings were carried out by a lone attacker, who then fled the scene, leading to a huge manhunt in the area overnight.Earlier today it was reported that a 15-year-old had been arrested in connection with the attack.
Per Sky News, at an afternoon press conference in nearby Wuppertal today, Düsseldorf police confirmed the arrest, urged people to avoid online speculation about the attack, and asked anybody with evidence to submit it using the official helpline.In a press conference, police stated that the arrested 15-year-old is not believed to be the prime suspect, who is still unknown.Public prosecutor Markus Caspers said: “He is at this point only suspected of failing to report a crime.” He added that the suspect was alleged to have spoken with the perpetrator “shortly before the crime”.They then made a second arrest, following a police operation at a home for refugees in Solingen, The Guardian reported.
A police spokesperson said they could not provide any more details on the individual or the connection to the incident.Now, The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.In a statement on their Telegram account, they said that the attack was carried out by one of its members “in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere”, per Reuters.They did not immediately provide any evidence and it is not yet clear how close any relationship between the attacker and Islamic State was.
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