Three people are dead and eight injured after a stabbing attack in Germany on Friday night. 

Police say a man attacked people at the Festival of Diversity in Solingen. The event marked 650 years since the town was founded. 

Police said they had detained a 15-year-old individual and were investigating whether this person had a link to the attacker.

They have not identified a motive, but are hoping to get more details from witnesses. The perpetrator aimed specifically for peoples' throats, one police spokesperson said.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz is calling for swift action. He tweeted that the perpetrator must be punished to the full extent of the law. 

Interior minister Nancy Faeser said security authorities were doing everything they could to catch the assailant and investigate the attack, which took place in the Fronhof, a market square in Solingen where live bands were playing.

Meanwhile, authorities have canceled festival events planned for this weekend. 

Knife attacks are relatively rare in Germany. But this incident comes two months after a policeman was killed in Mannheim. 

The German government said earlier this month that it wanted tougher rules for people carrying knives in public. 

It’s suggested that it will try to reduce the maximum length of blades permitted in public spaces.  

The incident comes ahead of three state elections next month in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, in which the anti-immigrant far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has a chance of winning.

Though the motive and identity of the assailant were not known, a top AfD candidate for one of the state elections, Bjoern Hoecke, seized on Friday's attack, posting on X: "Do you really want to get used to this? Free yourselves and end this insanity of forced multiculturalism".

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