SOLINGEN, Germany (AP) 鈥� A 26-year-old man turned himself into police, saying he was responsible for the that left three dead and eight wounded at a festival marking the city鈥檚 650th anniversary, German authorities announced early Sunday.
Duesseldorf police said in a joint statement with the prosecutor鈥檚 office that the man 鈥渟tated that he was responsible for the attack.鈥�
鈥淭his person鈥檚 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 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 鈥渢o avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.鈥� The claim couldn鈥檛 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 . 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 鈥淔estival of Diversity鈥� to celebrate its anniversary.
The festival began Friday and was supposed to run through Sunday, with several stages in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics. The attack took place in front of one stage.
The festival was canceled as police looked for clues in the cordoned-off square.
Instead residents gathered to mourn the dead and injured, placing flowers and notes near the scene of the attack.
鈥淲arum?鈥� asked one sign placed amid candles and teddy bears. Why?
Among those asking themselves the question was 62-year-old Cord Boetther, a merchant fron Solingen.
鈥淲hy does something like this have to be done? It鈥檚 incomprehensible and it hurts,鈥� Boetther said.
Officials had earlier said a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion he knew about the planned attack and failed to inform authorities, but that he was not the attacker. Two female witnesses told police they overheard the boy and an unknown person before the attack speaking about intentions that corresponded to the bloodshed, officials said.
People alerted police shortly after 9:30 p.m. local time Friday that a man had assaulted several people with a knife on the city鈥檚 central square, the Fronhof. The three people killed were two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman, authorities said. Police said the attacker appeared to have deliberately aimed for his victims鈥� throats.
The declared its caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria about a decade ago, but now holds no control over any land and has lost many prominent leaders. The group is mostly out of global news headlines.
Still, it continues to recruit members and claim responsibility for , including lethal earlier this year that killed dozens of people. Its still carry out attacks on government forces in both countries as well as U.S.-backed Syrian fighters.
鈥斺赌�
McHugh contributed from Frankfurt, Germany.
Daniel Niemann And David Mchugh, The Associated Press
