A suspect arrested in connection with a stabbing attack in the western German city of Solingen is believed to be a member of the Islamic State, federal prosecutors said, after Friday’s attack that left three people dead and eight wounded.

On Sunday morning, the police and the public prosecutor’s office in Düsseldorf announced in a joint statement that the suspect arrested is a 26-year-old Syrian who has turned himself in.

A spokesman for German federal prosecutors, who have taken over the investigation into the case, also said the man was suspected of being a member of the Islamic State. The extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday without providing any evidence.

“The involvement of this person is currently being intensively investigated,” the joint statement said.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul told the ARD broadcaster on Saturday evening that authorities had been busy all day following a “hot trail” that led to the arrest.

Police had previously made two arrests that were unlikely to be the perpetrator, Reul said. “The real suspect is the one we just arrested,” he said. The person was being questioned and evidence was being seized, he said.

A 56-year-old woman and two men, ages 56 and 67, all from the area, were killed in the attack Friday night, authorities said. Another eight people were injured, four seriously.

Police found at least one weapon that may have been used in the alleged attack and are analyzing it for DNA evidence. They said they had no indication in the run-up to the festival that there was a security risk.

People began leaving bouquets of flowers and candles in memory of the victims at the site of the attack in the centre of Solingen.

Authorities set up a website for people to submit footage or information about the alleged attack, set up a hotline and urged witnesses not to post videos directly to social media.

The alleged attacker used a knife to attack people seemingly at random in a crowd of thousands who had gathered for a festival on the main square in Solingen on Friday night. The savage attack, which took place at a festival of diversity celebrating the city’s 650th anniversary, lasted just minutes, witnesses said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is under pressure to tackle a rise in knife violence in cities, said on Saturday he was “shocked” by the “terrible event” and joined the terrorised city in mourning the victims.

“I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” he wrote in a post on X. “The perpetrator must be caught quickly and punished to the full extent of the law.”

The mass stabbing took place at a festival that was scheduled to run through Sunday and attract around 25,000 people each day, with a programme of live bands, cabaret acts, acrobats and children’s entertainment. The rest of the festival has been cancelled, as have weekend festivities in nearby towns.

A large crowd had gathered around a stage with live music on the Fronhof market square in the city centre. Most of the injured were said to have been attacked directly in front of the stage, the Bild newspaper reported, adding that the suspect appeared to have targeted the throats of his victims.

German DJ Topic, from Solingen, said in a post on Instagram that he was on stage when security personnel approached him and informed him of the attack.

He was asked to continue his set “to avoid causing mass panic,” he said. “So I kept playing, even though it was incredibly difficult.” He said he was told to stop 10-15 minutes later, and “as the attacker was still on the run, we hid in a nearby store while police helicopters circled overhead,” he wrote.

“I still can’t believe it… this should be a free festival for everyone. Very good friends of mine were there with their little children,” he said in a video he made in his childhood bedroom. “What’s happening to this world… my thoughts are with all the victims.”

Germany has seen a series of knife attacks in the past 12 months. Faeser earlier this month vowed to crack down on knife crime by overhauling the country’s gun laws.