Suspect in Germany stabbing rampage arrested

ROBERTO PFEIL/ AFP

A man suspected of a stabbing rampage in the western German town of Solingen has been taken into police custody.

Authorities said that the suspect, a 26-year-old Syrian man, turned himself in and admitted to the crime.

"The involvement of this person is currently under intensive investigation," Duesseldorf police and prosecutors said in a joint statement.

The details provide a somewhat fuller picture of an account late on Saturday by a state official who announced on German television the arrest of the man that authorities had been searching for in the 24 hours since the attack that killed three people and injured eight.

The incident, for which the IS claimed responsibility, occurred on Friday evening at a festival to celebrate the city's 650-year history.

The suspect is affiliated with a home for refugees in Solingen that had been searched on Saturday, authorities said.

Hendrik Wuest, premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on Saturday described the attack as an act of terror.

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