Germany's federal prosecutor's office, which is the highest prosecutor in the country, took over the investigation of the knife attack in the western German city of Solingen, in which three people were killed, DPA reported, BTA reported.
A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office told the agency that an investigation is underway on suspicion of belonging to the “Islamic State” of the main suspect, who turned himself in to the police. The terrorist organization earlier claimed responsibility, saying one of its members carried out the attack.
German police say they have arrested the alleged “real perpetrator” of the attack, the Prime Minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wust, announced last night on Aer De television (ARD).
According to the police, the suspect has claimed responsibility for the attack and is currently being questioned. The attack took place on Friday night during a festival to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the founding of the city. The victims are two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman. Eight people were injured, four of them seriously, Solingen police chief Torsten Fleiss said. The attacker appeared to choose his victims at random, but aimed for their throats, Fleiss said.
A 26-year-old Syrian man has been arrested in connection with a stabbing attack in the western German city of Solingen that killed three people and wounded eight, authorities said early this morning, Reuters reported. He turned himself in and confessed to the crime, Düsseldorf police and prosecutors said in a joint statement.