German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday (August 24) that the perpetrator of a stabbing rampage in the western town of Solingen must be punished to fullest extent of the law, Reuters reports.

 

“One thing is very clear: such acts must be harshly punished,” Scholz said. “We must never accept this in our society and must do everything we can to investigate and prosecute the concrete offences, but also do everything we can to prevent such things from happening again.”

 

Police hunted on Saturday for an unknown assailant hours after he killed three people and wounded others in a stabbing attack at a festival in Solingen.

 

Eight were injured, five of them seriously, the police said in a statement early on Saturday.

 

The incident occurred around 9:40 p.m. (1940 GMT) on Friday, when the man attacked multiple people with a knife, the police said, adding that the motive remained unclear.