Several people killed in knife attack at festival in German city

Several people were killed and several others injured in a knife attack on Friday at a folk festival in the western German city of Solingen, according to German police. Düsseldorf police spokeswoman Anja Kynast told CBS News that at least three people were killed and four others injured in the attack. Solingen is about 30 kilometers from Düsseldorf.

Witnesses alerted the police shortly after 9:30 p.m. local time that an unknown perpetrator had injured several people with a knife at the Fronhof. The police reported that the perpetrator was on the run and that they had only very limited information about the attacker.

They assumed that the stabbings were committed by a lone perpetrator.

One of the festival organizers, Philipp Müller, appeared on stage and urged festival-goers to “stay calm and keep their eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator has not yet been caught.” He said many people had been injured by “a knife attacker.”

In a social media post, Solingen's mayor Tim Kurzbach wrote that the city was “in shock, horror and great sadness. We all wanted to celebrate our city's birthday together and now we have to mourn the dead and injured.”

The German news agency dpa quoted unnamed police sources as saying that the weapon used was probably a knife; no one has been arrested yet. The attack took place in a central square, the Fronhof.

The “Festival of Diversity” to mark the city's 650th anniversary began on Friday and was scheduled to run until Sunday. Several stages in central streets were scheduled to offer attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics.

Solingen has about 160,000 inhabitants.

The highest German security official, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, recently proposed tightening the gun laws. In future, carrying knives in public should only be permitted with a blade length of up to six centimeters. Currently, a blade length of twelve centimeters is permitted.

contributed to this report.