Hidden in a backyard

“It’s me”: Solingen attacker turns himself in

Around 24 hours after the fatal knife attack at the "Festival of Diversity", a suspect was arrested in Solingen, Germany.

(Bild: APA Pool/APA/dpa/Federico Gambarini)

The police have arrested a suspect in connection with the knife attack in Solingen. This was confirmed by North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul on Saturday evening on ARD television and spoke of a "real suspect" who had been sought all day.

There had already been repeated reports of arrests - krone.at reported - which may have involved witnesses or possible accomplices. There was also a raid on an asylum home.

The "real suspect" finally turned himself in - to a police patrol on Saturday evening, as reported by Der Spiegel. His clothes were dirty and covered in blood. 

Arrived from Syria - asylum application 2022
According to the Bild newspaper, the young man said as he approached police officers in the pouring rain: "I'm the one you're looking for." According to the report, he had been hiding in a backyard since the gruesome crime that left three people dead on Friday evening.

According to further reports, he is a 26-year-old Syrian named Issa al H., who entered the country in 2022 and has since enjoyed subsidiary protection in Germany. He was not previously known to the security authorities as an Islamist extremist - this information was also confirmed to Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Minister: "The one we were really looking for"
With regard to the search in a refugee shelter in Solingen, Interior Minister Herbert Reul said on ARD's "Tagesthemen" shortly before midnight: The raid was part of further information that was used.

Reul: "But that was not what we wanted. We have been following a hot lead all day, and I can tell you that we successfully closed this hot lead a few minutes ago. The person we were actually looking for all day has been in our custody for a short time."

NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst (right), German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (left) and Lord Mayor Tim Kurzbach (back) at a press statement in Solingen on Saturday

(Bild: AFP)

"We have also found evidence"
Reul admitted that it was too early to assess whether the arrest was ultimately a success. "I myself am a little relieved at the moment. I can only tell you that it is now more than just a hunch. Not only did we have a lead on this person, but we also found evidence."

The police had seized several knives, which are now being examined. However, it is still uncertain whether one of them was used in the attack. 

Three dead, four still in mortal danger
A man - presumably Issa al H., who has now been arrested - had reportedly stabbed bystanders at an anniversary celebration of the city of Solingen in the Bergisches Land region on Friday evening, allegedly aiming the knife at the neck area of his victims - after the bloodbath he escaped in the commotion. Two men (67 and 56) and a woman (56) died.

Eight people were injured, some of them seriously - four were still in mortal danger on Saturday.

People laid flowers and candles near the crime scene in Solingen.

(Bild: AFP)

The terrorist organization Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack online. Whether H. really had a connection to IS has yet to be verified. The dean of the city of Solingen, Michael Mohr, said at a prayer service: "The city is a different place today than it was yesterday."