German police: Festival Attack Suspect Surrenders and Admits Crime

German police said Sunday morning that a 26-year-old man has surrendered to the police and admitted he is the handover of the deadly knife attack at a festival for marking the 650th anniversary of the town of Solingen in the western part of the country.

The suspect in the murder of three people and the wound of eight others Friday surrendered and confessed the crime, police and Dusseldorf prosecutor said in a joint communiqué.

This person's involvement is being intensely investigated”, the communiqué says.

The attack, which claimed responsibility for the Islamic State, took place Friday evening at the festival marking the 659th anniversary of the city.

The suspect is linked to a refugee home in Solingen, which was raided by police on Saturday, authorities said.

The Islamic state (IS) described the man who carried out the attack as a <x1 community member of Islamic State” in a communique published on Saturday in the telegram.

IS gave no evidence to support its claim. It is not clear what ties the attacker may have had with the Islamic State.

On Saturday, authorities arrested a 15-year-old under suspicion that he was aware of the planned attack and had not notified authorities. Police said the 15-year-old is not the handbill.

Markus Caspers, prosecutor from the public prosecutor's office in Dusseldorf, said on Saturday afternoon at a conference that “terrorism” cannot be excluded from this case, because there are no other motives and because the victims have no link.

The attack occurred Friday, after 9:00 p.m., when the attacker stabbed some people in a square downtown.

The “Multitype Festival”, which marks the city's 650th anniversary, began Friday and was due to be held until Sunday.

Solingen has some 160,000 inhabitants and is near large cities of Kil and Dusseldorf.