German terror attack suspect identified as Syrian refugee, Chancellor vows to implement strict immigration

Authorities identify 26-year-old man as responsible for deadly stabbing attack at festival In Solingen, Germany, left three people dead and eight injured last week, including a Syrian national with possible links to the Islamic State.

German federal prosecutors identified the suspect as Issa Al H., omitting his last name due to German privacy laws.

Islamic State previously claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the assailant targeted Christians who carried out the attack “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere.”

The Islamic State group described the man who carried out the attack as an “Islamic State soldier” in a statement on its Telegram account.

Islamic State claims responsibility for German festival attack after second suspect arrested

Police and ambulances stand near the scene of last week's knife attack in Germany. (Gianni Gattus/photo alliance via Getty Images)

North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said Issa Al H. had been living in a refugee shelter in Solingen before the attack.

Der Spiegel magazine, citing unidentified security sources, said the suspect had moved to Germany in late 2022 and applied for asylum.

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After the fatal stabbing attack on August 23, Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for stricter immigration laws and increased deportations.

“We must do everything in our power to ensure that those who cannot or are not allowed to stay in Germany are repatriated and deported,” Scholz said during his visit to the scene of the attack.

“It was terrorism, terrorism against all of us,” he said.

Police officers stand near a building in Solingen, Germany. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP)

The victims were standing in front of a stage where a band was performing live to mark the city's 650th anniversary when the attack happened at around 9:35 p.m. local time on August 23.

The three people who died were two men, ages 67 and 56, and a 56-year-old woman, authorities said. Police said the attacker appeared to have deliberately aimed at his victims' throats.

Police cordoned off the square and passers-by laid candles and flowers at the barriers.

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In a social media post immediately after the attack, Solingen Mayor Tim Kurzbach said they were in shock. following the attack.

“Tonight we are all in Solingen in shock, frightened and deeply sad,” he wrote. “We all wanted to celebrate our city's anniversary together, and now we have to mourn the dead and injured. It breaks my heart that an attack has taken place in our city.”

Paramedics and police are deployed near the scene where three people were killed and injured in a knife attack at a festival in Solingen, Germany, on August 23. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP)

Fatal stabbings and shootings are relatively rare in Germany. The government announced earlier this month that it wanted to tighten rules on which knives can be carried in public.

In May, an Afghan migrant committed a series of knife attacks in Mannheimin southwest Germany, where he injured an anti-Islam activist and several others, including a police officer who died. Days later, a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was stabbed in the city while campaigning for elections.

The violence comes ahead of three regional elections next month in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, in which the far-right, anti-mass immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has a chance of winning.

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Although the motive and identity of the attacker are not known, one of the leading AfD candidates in the regional elections, Bjoern Hoecke, took advantage of Friday's attack to post on X: “Do you really want to get used to this? Free yourselves and put an end to this madness of forced multiculturalism.”

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.