German prosecutors name man suspected of carrying out Solingen stabbings
The stabbings, along with the claim of responsibility from ISIS, have sparked concern among some politicians who have urged enhanced security, tighter curbs on weapons, stiffer punishment for violent crimes and limits to immigration.
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00:00Prosecutors in Germany have released the name of the 26-year-old Syrian man suspected of
00:07killing three people in a stabbing attack in the city of Solingen on Friday.
00:12The man has been identified as Issa al-Aech.
00:15His surname has been withheld in line with German privacy laws.
00:19On Sunday, he was flown by helicopter to appear in the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe
00:24for his first hearing following his arrest on Saturday.
00:28The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said he'd been remanded in custody on suspicion
00:32of murder and membership of the so-called Islamic State terrorist group.
00:38The German daily newspaper Bild said on Saturday night that al-Aech approached officers on
00:42the street in Solingen just after 11 p.m. local time to turn himself in.
00:48His arrest has sparked relief among many of Solingen's 160,000 residents.
00:53German media reported that al-Aech's asylum claim had been denied and that he was supposed
01:19to have been deported last year.
01:21At a memorial church service on Sunday, some residents said they were afraid the far right
01:26would use the stabbing to whip up hatred of migrants.
01:30Of course, we are very afraid that the right wing is getting more and more power and that's
01:37definitely not the way.
01:38Of course, we have to ask some hard questions, but racism is never the answer.
01:43The attack happened on a central square in Solingen during the Festival of Diversity,
01:47an event to mark the 650th anniversary of the city.
01:52It was supposed to run until Sunday but was subsequently called off.