SOLINGEN, Germany – On Saturday, the Islamic State announced their involvement in a knife attack in Solingen, a city in Germany, which left three individuals dead and eight others injured.

Authorities have apprehended a teenager they suspect may have connections to the attack; however, the main assailant remains unidentified as of Saturday.

The militant group labeled the attacker as a “soldier of the Islamic State,” stating through their Telegram channel that he perpetrated the assault “in retaliation for Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere.”

No supporting evidence was released for this claim, and it remains uncertain how directly the attacker was associated with the Islamic State.

The attack, which occurred on Friday night during a festival, was characterized as an act of terrorism by Hendrik Wuest, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In their search for the attacker, the police are looking into a 15-year-old who has been detained as a potential associate of the assailant.

“This incident has deeply affected our nation,” stated Wuest during a press conference.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser assured that law enforcement is making every effort to locate the attacker.

The assault happened in the Fronhof market square, where live music was being performed as part of the celebration for the city’s 650th anniversary.

Markus Caspers, a representative from the public prosecutor’s office in Duesseldorf, indicated that the attack is being classified as a possible act of terrorism since no other motives have been identified and the victims did not appear to be connected.

A police spokesperson, Thorsten Fleiss, noted that the attacker seemed to aim for the throats of the victims.

“The offender must be swiftly caught and face maximum legal consequences,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed in a post on X.

The police set up barriers around the area on Saturday while people placed candles and flowers along the perimeter.

“We are overwhelmed with horror and sadness,” said Tim-Oliver Kurzbach, the Mayor of Solingen, to the press.

A musician known as Topic reported that he was performing nearby when the attack occurred. He learned of the incident but was instructed to continue playing “to prevent inducing a panic,” according to his post on Instagram.

Eventually, he was told to stop, and given that the attacker was still on the loose, they sought refuge in a nearby store while police helicopters patrolled overhead, Topic shared.

The remaining events of the weekend festival were called off by the authorities.

While fatal stabbings and shootings are generally rare in Germany, this month, the government had previously announced plans to tighten regulations regarding knives allowed in public to limit their maximum length.

Earlier in June, a 29-year-old policeman was killed in Mannheim during a stabbing related to a protest by right-wing groups. Additionally, a stabbing incident on a train in 2021 resulted in multiple injuries.

Herbert Reul, the interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, visited the Solingen site early on Saturday. He remarked to the media that the attack seemed to have been deliberately aimed at innocent people, but he refrained from speculating on its motive.

Solingen is recognized for its knife manufacturing and is home to approximately 165,000 residents.

Additional contributions from Thilo Schmuelgen and Rene Wagner; Edited by Kirsten Donovan, Hugh Lawson and Frances Kerry