Multiple people have reportedly been killed and injured in an attack at a festival in the city of Solingen in west Germany.
Local new agencies are reporting three people have been killed in what’s believed to be a stabbing attack at a Fronhof marketplace at 9.45pm (local time) Friday.
Festival organisers, Philipp Müller, said on stage that nine people were fighting for life.
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German news agencies are reporting the attacker is still at large and police were on a manhunt.
The local Solinger Tageblatt newspaper reported that authorities were calling on people to leave downtown Solingen or stay indoors.
The Festival of Diversity began on Friday, marking the city’s 650th anniversary, and was supposed to run through Sunday.
A stage had been set up in the centre of the city for live music.
Attendees told media outlets they did not know an attack occurred until organisers announced the festival was cancelled.
Müller was heard on stage telling festival goers to “go calmly, please keep yours eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn’t been caught.”
Mayor Tim Kurzbach said in a Facebook post that, “This evening, we in Solingen are all in shock. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament.”
“It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened,” he said.
Solingen has about 160,000 inhabitants and is located near the bigger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf.
– With Associated Press