Three people have been killed and four were seriously injured in a knife attack at a German festival, police have said.
They added the perpetrator of the attack on festivalgoers in a market square in the western city of Solingen was on the run, German news agency dpa reported.
Police confirmed it was a knife attack in a post on X.
Passers-by were stabbed at random, according to Bild, at about 9.45pm local time.
The local Solinger Tageblatt newspaper reported that one of the festival organisers, Philipp Muller, said on a stage that emergency workers were fighting for the lives of nine people.
According to AP, he asked festivalgoers to “go calmly; please keep your eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn’t been caught”.
He said many people had been wounded by “a knifeman”.
According to Sky News’ European correspondent Siobhan Robbins, a police operation in the area is still ongoing.
People had gathered for the Festival of Diversity which started on Friday to mark the 650th anniversary of the 160,000-strong city.
It was supposed to run through to Sunday, with several stages in the city offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics.
Pic: AP
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The festival has now been stopped and people have been told to leave the area, Robbins said.
Solingen is in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state and bordering the Netherlands.
‘It breaks my heart’
The city’s mayor, Tim Kurzbach, said he would be praying for the victims.
In a Facebook post, he said “this evening, we in Solingen are all in shock. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament”.
He added: “It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened.”
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