German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in the western city of Solingen on Monday morning, three days after the fatal knife attack there.

Mayor Tim Kurzbach first greeted Mr Scholz at Solingen’s city hall.

Also present were Hendrik Wüst, state premier of North Rhine Westphalia, where Solingen is located, Deputy Premier Mona Neubaur and the state’s interior minister, Herbert Reul.

Following a meeting at the city hall, a commemoration is planned for the victims at the attack site in the city centre.

Mr Scholz also intends to speak with emergency personnel.

On Friday evening, during a city festival in Solingen, three people were killed in a knife attack. Eight people were injured, four of them seriously.

A 26-year-old Syrian suspect has been in custody since Sunday evening on various charges, including suspicion of membership in the terrorist militia Islamic State and suspicion of murder.

Mr Scholz described the knife attack as a terrible crime. He stated that the full force of the law must be applied.

Following Solingen, Mr Scholz plans to visit three more cities in the wider Ruhr district.

Visits to the chemical park in Marl, the technology centre at the former Bochum Opel site, and an allotment garden in Castrop-Rauxel were announced by the German government several days ago. 

(dpa/NAN)