Germany: Solingen attack suspect named, remanded in custody

German prosecutors on Sunday released the name of the 26-year-old Syrian man suspected of a multiple stabbing attack in the western city of Solingen that killed three people and injured eight others.

Issa Al H., who was identified without his family name due to German privacy laws, was flown by helicopter to the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe for his first hearing.

Al H. was remanded in custody on suspicion of murder and membership of the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) group, among other charges, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said.

IS claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, saying it was in "revenge for Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere." But the group did not provide evidence and it is not possible to verify the claim.

Earlier Sunday, police said the suspect had turned himself in and admitted responsibility for the attack. German news magazine Spiegel reported that the suspect came to Germany in 2022 as a refugee and applied for asylum in the city of Bielefeld. 

According to Germany's dpa news agency, the man's asylum claim was denied and he was to have been deported last year. The agency cited no sources for its information.

Al H. came from a home for refugees in Solingen that was searched on Saturday, according to Herbert Reul, the interior minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Solingen is situated.

Random stabbings at 'Festival of Diversity'

Friday's attack occurred in front of a music stage at an event in Solingen's market square to mark 650 years of the city's history.

Two men, aged 67 and 56, and a 56-year-old woman were killed by the knife-wielding attacker, who also injured eight other people, four of them seriously. Those with serious injuries were said on Sunday to be on the way to recovery after treatment at nearby hospitals.

The assailant fled unidentified amid the panic caused by the attacks, which police said deliberately targeted victims' throats.

German officials have said that they have also arrested a 15-year-old boy on suspicion that he knew about the planned attack and failed to inform authorities.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit Solingen after attack

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Solingen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) on Monday morning in the wake of the deadly knife attack in the city.

Scholz will reportedly take part in a memorial service honoring the victims of what has been labelled a terror attack.

Scholz is also scheduled to meet with Mayor Tim Kurzbach as well as emergency services workers and police who were at the scene. He will be accompanied in Solingen by NRW State Premier Hendrik Wüst (CDU).

German government minister calls for stricter knife laws

Amid rising levels of knife crime in Germany, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has demanded tougher knife laws in the wake of the attack.

"No one in Germany needs to have a knife in a public place," the Green politician said on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter,  adding that "Islamic terrorism" was one of "the biggest security dangers" Germany faces.  

The Solingen incident is likely to further inflame anti-immigration sentiment and xenophobia in some sectors of German society and possibly boost support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of elections next week in the eastern states of Thuringia and Saxony, where the party already enjoys considerable popularity.

Opposition, meanwhile, urges tougher deportation policies after attack

German opposition politicians have renewed calls for toughening the country's deportation policies after yet another knife attack committed by an individual whose asylum application had long been denied.

Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Chairman Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder head of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have called on the Scholz coalition government to stop quibbling and finally begin vigorously deporting immigrants denied asylum, even if they come from countries like Afghanistan or Syria.

"An asylum seeker whose asylum is rejected must leave the country," said Söder, who is also Bavaria's state premier.

In separate TV interviews recorded Sunday, Söder said, "We're getting in over our heads when it comes to migration." 

He added that laws must be changed as soon as possible, suggesting a "refugee limit" might be necessary, adding that in his opinion it should be less than 100,000 annually.

Another point of concern for Söder was the fact that the perpetrator in this weekend's knife attack in Solingen had been denied asylum, yet remained in the country more than a year later.

"The truth is simple: We have to be more firm. We have to allow police to conduct checks," he said, arguing for random stops of foreigners in pedestrian areas, for instance.

CDU leader Merz on Sunday called for a complete stop to the admission of Afghan and Syrian refugees into the country, demanding Chancellor Olaf Scholz take swift and decisive action to "prevent further terrorist attacks in Germany."

"It is not the knives that are the problem, but the people walking around with them," Merz wrote. "In the majority of cases, these are refugees, in the majority of offenses, Islamist motives are behind them."

js,mm, tj/nm, wd (AP, dpa, Reuters)

*Editor's note: DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and urges us to refrain from revealing the full names of alleged criminals.

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