Germany stabbing attack: DJ Topic says he was told to play on 'to avoid mass panic' during festival
Three people have died and eight have been left injured, five of them seriously wounded, following a stabbing attack in Solingen, Germany. A festival celebrating the city's 650th anniversary was taking place at the time.
Saturday 24 August 2024 18:31, UK
A musician playing at a festival in Germany at which three people were killed in a knife attack has told how he continued performing "to avoid causing a mass panic".
DJ and producer Topic shared a statement on Instagram following the attack in his hometown of Solingen, near Dusseldorf, on Friday night, saying he continued on stage as the incident unfolded.
Three people died and eight were injured, five of them seriously wounded. German police have not yet made any arrests and a manhunt is currently under way.
In his statement, Topic said it was "incredibly hard" but he kept playing, and later went into hiding nearby as police helicopters "circled" overhead.
"During my set, security personnel from the city came to me and asked me to please continue playing to avoid causing a mass panic, as there were already people killed by a stabbing attacker," he wrote.
"So I kept playing, even though it was incredibly hard. After about 10-15 minutes, the music was finally stopped, and the people were informed about the incident."
People were reportedly stabbed at random in the Fronhof market square, where live musicians were playing, in the western city of Solingen at about 9.45pm local time on Friday.
People had gathered for the Festival of Diversity which started on Friday to mark the 650th anniversary of the 160,000-strong city.
'Hearts torn apart' - but 'no one can break this city'
There is a calm sadness hanging over the west German city of Solingen. A few metres away from the site where three festival-goers were fatally stabbed, locals lay candles in their honour.
The small memorial laid out on a rainbow flag grows gradually through the day. I watch as a woman wipes a tear from her cheek, deeply moved by the devastation which has been inflicted about her home.
"Last night our hearts were torn apart," says Solingen's mayor, Tim Kurzbach. "We in Solingen are full of horror and grief. What happened yesterday in our city has hardly let any of us sleep."
Police in small groups can be seen in the streets; some guard the cordon, others speak to members of the public as they try to gather information about the attacker who caused all the pain.
Festival organiser Philip Müller was at the second stage when he got a call saying there was a man in the crowd stabbing people. When he arrived at the central square a few moments later, the only people left were the dead, the injured and emergency service personnel trying to help them.
"When I arrived at the front there were no people anymore. They were gone: shocked. There was a little kind of panic...some got down under the tables," he says.
Signs of the ongoing manhunt aren't immediately apparent at the crime scene in the city centre where officers continue to gather evidence. Rather than a widespread air of fear or tension, many people seem to be continuing their Saturday as normal. This isn't due to indifference but defiance according to Mr Müller. "No one can break this city. We have 160,000 people. No-one can't break us," he says, "Let us keep together in freedom and in peace."
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Tap hereTopic, who is known for hits including My Heart Goes (La Di Da) with British singer Becky Hill, and ATB remix Your Love (9PM), went on to say: "I still can't believe it… this was supposed to be a free festival for everyone. Really close friends of mine were there with their small kids…
"I'm writing all this while a helicopter is still flying over the house where I grew up as a kid, in a 'small' town in Germany. What's happening to this world…
"My thoughts are with all the victims."
Solingen is in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, bordering the Netherlands.