Three dead after stabbing attack at festival in western Germany
1. Police say unidentified man attacked multiple people and that the perpetrator is still at large
**SOLINGEN**: Three people were killed, and four others were seriously wounded in a stabbing attack at a festival in the western German city of Solingen on Friday night, according to police.
The attack occurred around 10 p.m. (2000 GMT), with a single, unidentified assailant targeting multiple individuals. The perpetrator is still at large.
"It breaks my heart that our city has suffered such an attack. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we have lost," Solingen Mayor Tim-Oliver Kurzbach said in a statement. "I pray for all those still fighting for their lives."
Fatal stabbings and shootings are relatively uncommon in Germany.
The police reported that the attack took place during a festival celebrating the town's 650th anniversary.
Solingen is located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, which borders the Netherlands.
The state's interior minister, Herbert Reul, visited the scene and described the incident as a targeted attack on human life, but he refrained from speculating on the motive.
According to the mayor's statement, the attack occurred at the Fronhof, a market square where live bands were performing.
The German government has been working to tighten regulations on knives allowed in public, aiming to reduce the permissible blade length.
In June, a 29-year-old police officer was fatally stabbed in Mannheim, Germany, during an attack at a right-wing demonstration.
