The suspect of the shocking terror attack in Germany that gripped the world on Friday night has been named and charged for the first time.
The German prosecutor’s office on Sunday ordered the pre-trial detention of ‘Syrian national Issa Al H’, over ”strong suspicions of belonging to a terrorist group abroad’ as well as of murder and attempted murder.
The 26-year-old suspect came from a home for refugees in Solingen that was searched on Saturday, North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister Herbert Reul said, as the authorities continue to look into his possible links with the Islamic State.
Der Spiegel magazine, citing unidentified security sources, said the suspect had moved to Germany late in 2022 and sought asylum.
He was seen today getting dragged to his arraignment at the Federal Supreme Court (BGH) in Karlsruhe, Germany, by federal police officers who took him to the southwestern courthouse via helicopter.
The attack occurred during a festival on Friday evening in the Fronhof, a market square, where live bands were playing to celebrate Solingen’s 650-year history. Mourners have made a makeshift memorial near the scene.
The tragic incident, along with the militant group’s claim of responsibility, sparked concern among some politicians who urged enhanced security, tighter curbs on weapons, stiffer punishment for violent crimes, and limits to immigration.
The suspect turned himself in late on Saturday and admitted to the crime, Duesseldorf police and prosecutors said in a joint statement early on Sunday.
‘The involvement of this person is currently under intensive investigation,’ they said.
Friedrich Merz, a prominent politician who leads the opposition, centre-right CDU party, urged that the country stopped admitting further refugees from Syria and Afghanistan.
‘It’s enough!’ he said in a letter on his website.
German federal prosecutors have taken over the case and are investigating whether the suspect was a member of Islamic State, a spokesperson for the prosecutors said.
The group described the man who carried out the attack as a ‘soldier of the Islamic State’ in a statement on its Telegram account on Saturday.
It did not provide evidence for this assertion and details of the suspect’s possible membership of the group were not immediately known.
Hendrik Wuest, premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia where Solingen is located, on Saturday described the attack as an act of terror.
Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has said there have been around a dozen Islamist-motivated attacks since 2000. One of the biggest was in 2016, when a Tunisian drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring dozens.
‘The risk of jihadist-motivated acts of violence remains high. The Federal Republic of Germany remains a direct target of terrorist organizations,’ the BKA said in the report earlier this year.