German police have arrested a man suspected of killing three people and injuring another eight in Friday’s knife attack in the western city of Solingen, a regional minister has said.
“The man we’ve really been looking for the whole day has just been taken into custody,” Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, told ARD public TV late on Saturday.
He gave no details, but Germany’s Bild and Spiegel news websites reported that the suspect, in dirty blood-stained clothes, had given himself up.
Two men, aged 56 and 67, and a 56-year-old woman were stabbed to death during a festival, in what Chancellor Olaf Scholz described as a “horrific act”.
“We have found evidence,” Mr Reul told ARD Tagesthemen news.
The minister said he was the man “we most suspected”.
A state interior ministry spokesman confirmed that the man had turned himself in.
This was the third arrest on Saturday, following the stabbing attack that shocked Germany.
Earlier police said a man was detained at a refugee centre close to the site of the attack.
Bild reported that special task force (SEK) officers stormed the refugee centre, arresting a suspect.
It said the building was located about 300m (984ft) from Fronhof – Solingen’s central market square where people were stabbed on Friday night.
That arrest came a few hours after a 15-year-old boy was detained. Officials said he was not the main suspect – but was alleged to have known about the attack.
The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack.
It did not immediately provide any evidence and it was not clear how close any relationship with the attacker was.
The attacker reportedly stabbed passers-by at random during a festival to celebrate 650 years since the industrial city of Solingen was founded.
The situation in the square after the attack was “very hectic”, which made it difficult to find the perpetrator, the police said.
They also confirmed that the attacker “targeted” people’s throats and necks.
Solingen – a city famous for its steel industry – has about 160,000 inhabitants. It lies about 25km (15 miles) east of Düsseldorf.
The city’s authorities asked people to leave the Fronhof area after the attack at about 22:00 local time (21:00 BST) on Friday.
The planned three-day celebrations of the city anniversary – for which about 75,000 people had been expected – were cancelled after the attack.
Solingen Mayor Tim Kurzbach later said that “all of us in Solingen are in shock, horror and great sadness.
“It breaks my heart that an attack has happened in our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we’ve lost.
“I pray for all those still fighting for their lives. Also my greatest sympathy for all those who had to experience this, these images must have been horrific.”
The entrance to Fronhof is now being guarded by police.
People have been bringing flowers and candles to the site of the attack that shocked the entire country.
Players from Germany’s top Bundesliga football league wore black armbands during Saturday’s matches.
