German prosecutors name and charge suspect after three people were killed at festival

German prosecutors have named the man suspected of carrying out a knife attack at a festival that killed three people and injured eight.

The Syrian national Issa Al H is accused of being “a member of a terrorist organisation abroad”, saying he shares the “ideology of Islamic State” (IS).

He has also been charged with three counts of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm in eight cases.

A 56-year-old woman and two men, aged 56 and 67, died following the attack in the city of Solingen on Friday.

The 26-year-old, who had applied for asylum, handed himself into police following a large-scale manhunt involving several police forces and special units after the incident.

Officers in Dusseldorf said the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack”, adding he had been arrested before.

They also said the attacker appeared to have deliberately aimed for his victims’ throats.

The suspect, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, was taken from the police station in Solingen to make a first appearance before a judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe on Sunday.

The IS has already claimed responsibility for the attack, with a security source telling the IS-affiliated media arm Amaq Agency that the suspect “was a soldier from the Islamic State, and he carried it out as revenge against Muslims in Palestine and everywhere”.

The group did not provide any evidence supporting its claims.

Police were alerted by witnesses shortly after 9.30pm local time on Friday, to reports of several people being wounded in a central square, the Fronhof, during a community festival.

The Festival of Diversity, marking the city’s 650th anniversary, began on Friday and was supposed to continue over the weekend, with several stages in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret, and acrobatics, but it has now been cancelled.

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DJ and music producer Topic, who was performing at the festival, said he was on stage and asked to continue performing “to avoid mass panic” as the incident unfolded.

Residents in Solingen, a city of about 160,000 residents near the bigger cities of Cologne and Dusseldorf, have been paying tribute to the victims, with a prayer service held yesterday in Neumarkt, a short walk from the square where the attack happened.

Some residents have left tributes for the victims on the streets and hundreds of people gathered at a church within sight of the crime scene for a memorial service on Sunday.

German interior minister Nancy Faeser visited the city on Saturday evening and said the government would do everything possible to support people.

“We will not allow such an awful attack divide our society,” she said, appearing alongside the minister-president of North Rhine Westphalia, Hendrik Wust.

The North Rhine Westphalia police force said the attack left them “deeply affected, sad and stunned”.

“Our condolences and deepest sympathy go out to the families, friends of the victims and all those close to them,” they said on Saturday.

“We are also thinking of the injured and wish them a speedy and full recovery. Our thoughts are also with all the people who wanted to celebrate peacefully in Solingen on Friday evening and instead had to fear for their lives and those of their loved ones.

“We hope that everyone affected by this senseless act will find the strength, help and support they need to process what they have experienced.”

Information about the identities of the victims has not yet been released.

The attack happened ahead of regional elections next Sunday in Germany’s Saxony and Thueringia regions – where anti-immigration parties are expected to do well.