The unidentified assailant stabbed passersby at random, media reports say, leaving three people dead and eight others wounded, five of them seriously.

Local police say the suspect fled the scene and is still at large. A manhunt is underway coordinated by the country’s SEK (Special Task Force), armed officers have cordoned off parts of the city, and residents have been requested to stay indoors.

Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, posted on the X platform: “Our security authorities are doing everything they can to catch the perpetrator and investigate the background of the attack.”

Security services said they do not know the motive for the attack or have a description of the knifeman. The BBC cited local media as saying the attacker had deliberately knifed his victims in the neck.

The stabbings occurred at around 9.45 pm local time after thousands had gathered for the Festival of Diversity held to mark the city’s 650th anniversary. The event was scheduled to last until Sunday but has been called off and partygoers have been requested to leave the city’s Fronhof market area.

Solingen's mayor, Tim Kurzbach, said on Facebook he would be praying for the wounded, posting that "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," Sky News reported.

"It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened," the post continued.

The region’s interior minister Herbert Reul told a press conference early on Saturday morning: “You don't want to believe what you see here at the crime scene. It weighs heavily.

“My thoughts are with the relatives of the victims and the injured. We can only pray that the seriously injured will survive.”