15-year-old arrested in connection with gruesome knife attack in Germany in which three people died and several were injured: authorities

A 15-year-old was arrested on Saturday in connection with a knife attack at a folk festival in Germany that left three people dead and eight injured, authorities said.

The suspect has been on the run for hours since the bloodshed in Solingen on Friday. Police said the teenager was not the suspected attacker.

The 15-year-old is accused of failing to report a crime after the teenager, according to witness statements, spoke to an unidentified person shortly before the crime “about intentions relevant to the crime,” said senior public prosecutor Markus Caspers in a press conference.

Authorities could not rule out a “terrorist” motive behind the attack because several knives were found, said police chief Markus Röhrl.

The attacker specifically targeted the neck and throat of his victims, said police spokesman Thorsten Fleiss.

Three people – two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman – were killed, police said.

Of the eight injured, four were “very seriously” injured and were in hospital, police said.

The chaos broke out around 9:30 p.m. in a central square at the “Festival of Diversity,” an event celebrating Solingen’s 650th anniversary.

According to police, the attack occurred near a stage during a music performance.

In response to the attack, the organizers canceled the rest of the festival lineup.

“All of us in Solingen are in shock this evening. We wanted to celebrate our city's birthday together and now we have deaths and injuries to mourn,” wrote Mayor Tim Kurzbach on Facebook.

“It breaks my heart that there has been an attack on our city,” he added.

This is a developing story, please check back later for further updates.