German Police Say A Man Has Turned Himself In, Claiming To Be Behind Deadly Knife Attack

SOLINGEN, Germany (AP) — A 26-year-old man turned himself into police, saying he was responsible for the Solingen knife attack that left three dead and eight wounded at a festival marking the city’s 650th anniversary, German authorities announced early Sunday.

Duesseldorf police said in a joint statement with the prosecutor’s office that the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack.”

“This person’s involvement in the crime is currently being intensively investigated,” the statement said.

The suspect is a Syrian citizen who had applied for asylum in Germany, police confirmed to The Associated Press.

On Saturday the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, without providing evidence. The extremist group said on its news site that the attacker targeted Christians and that he carried out the assaults Friday night “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.” The claim couldn’t be independently verified.

The attack comes amid debate over immigration ahead of regional elections next Sunday in Germany’s Saxony and Thueringia regions where anti-immigration parties such as the populist Alternative for Germany are expected to do well. In June, Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed that the country would start deporting criminals from Afghanistan and Syria again after a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant left one police officer dead and four more people injured.

On Saturday, a synagogue in France was targeted in an arson attack. French police said they made an arrest early Sunday.

Friday’s attack plunged the city of Solingen into shock and grief. A city of about 160,000 residents near the bigger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf, Solingen was holding a “Festival of Diversity” to celebrate its