Solingen, 24 August 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Police on Saturday are continuing to search for the person responsible for a fatal stabbing, which took place at the 650th anniversary celebrations of the city of Solingen on Friday.

The attack on Friday evening left at least three people dead - one woman and two men - and eight injured, five of them seriously, the authorities said. No information was given about the identity of the injured victims' or their current condition.

The attacker was still on the run early on Saturday morning, police said, and the search continues. Special units were searching for the attacker in the city, according to a dpa reporter.

Police warned residents who observe anything suspicious not to act on their own initiative but call the police emergency number.

"We currently have no clues as to his whereabouts," said a police spokesman. There was also no description of the suspect.

The attacker had managed to escape amid the panic that spread after the stabbing, said a spokesman for the North Rhine Westphalia Interior Ministry. North Rhine Westphalia is Germany's most populous state.

"I think that's our huge problem. We don't have much information about the perpetrator yet," Alexander Kresta, spokesman for the Wuppertal police said.

According to the police, the perpetrator appears to have attacked passers-by at random, choosing his victims at random. The interior ministry said however that the perpetrator had stabbed their necks very deliberately.

The attack began around around 9:45 pm (1945 GMT) on Friday, the police said. It took place at a marketplace in the city centre where a stage was set up for live music for a Festival of Diversity event. The crime took place directly in front of the stage, according to a dpa reporter.

North Rhine Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul arrived at the crime scene and was visibly shocked.

"Out of nowhere, someone stabs people indiscriminately," said Reul. "We in North Rhine Westphalia are deeply shocked and united in grief."

Witnesses who were in the immediate vicinity of the incident were in shock. "We are currently providing them with professional support and we are of course interviewing them to get more precise information."

Due to eyewitness reports, investigators believed that the attacker acted alone, Kresta said.

Police had asked members of the public to upload any footage from the incident through a dedicated online portal. The city of Solingen had also set up hotline, as families feared for relatives.

The Festival of Diversity began on Friday to mark the 650th anniversary of Solingen and was due to continue through to Sunday.

All the events planned for Saturday and Sunday had been cancelled, the city said.