The stabbings, along with the claim of responsibility from ISIS, have sparked concern among some politicians who have urged enhanced security, tighter curbs on weapons, stiffer punishment for violent crimes and limits to immigration.
Prosecutors in Germany have released the name of the 26-year-old Syrian man who is suspected of carrying out multiple stabbings in the southwestern city of Solingen on Friday night.
Those attacks left three people dead and eight others seriously wounded.
The man has been identified as Issa Al H. His surname has not been made public in line with German privacy laws.
On Sunday, he was flown by helicopter to appear in the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe for his first hearing following his arrest on Saturday night in Solingen.
The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said Al H. had been remanded in custody on suspicion of murder and membership of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group.
In a post online, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in “revenge for Muslims in Palestine”. However, the group did not provide any evidence to support the claim.
German police said they were looking into the suspect’s possible links with the group.
The dpa news agency reported on Sunday, without citing a specific source, that Al H’s asylum claim had been denied and that he was supposed to have been deported last year.
The German daily newspaper Bild said on Saturday night that Al H. approached officers on the street in Solingen just after 11 pm local time to turn himself in.
He was said to be covered in blood and reportedly said, “I’m the one you’re looking for.”
His arrest has sparked some measure of relief among many of Solingen’s 160,000 residents.
“That’s reassuring, of course. I think it’s very good that the person has either turned themselves in or at least been arrested. Crucial. And what is perhaps really interesting: why? This question of why does something like this happen? Why does something like this have to be done? It’s incomprehensible and it hurts,” said businessman Cord Boettcher.
“What will happen in the next few weeks? I don’t even dare go anywhere anymore and – of course it’s reassuring that he’s supposedly turned himself in now, but I’m speechless and totally shocked. That this happens again and again,” said painter Holger Honig.
At a memorial church service on Sunday, some residents told local media they were afraid the far-right would use the stabbing to whip up hatred of migrants.
“We just heard that the far right Youth Party is talking about coming together today here. So of course, we are all very afraid that the right wing is getting more and more power. And that’s definitely not the way of course, we have to ask some hard questions, but, you know, racism is never the answer,” city councillor Simone Lammert said.
The stabbings, along with the claim of responsibility from ISIS, have sparked concern among some politicians who have urged enhanced security, tighter curbs on weapons, stiffer punishment for violent crimes and limits to immigration.
The attack happened on a central square during the Festival of Diversity, an event to mark the 650th anniversary of the city. It was supposed to run until Sunday but was subsequently called off.
