Solingen marks two years since fatal festival knife attack with silent memorial

Memorial gathering at the Fronhof

On Sunday evening, approximately 150 people gathered outside the Evangelical Stadtkirche at the Fronhof square in Solingen to mark the second anniversary of the fatal knife attack that took place during the city's 650th anniversary celebrations. The half-hour commemorative ceremony brought together surviving victims, bereaved families, eyewitnesses, emergency service workers, and local residents. At precisely 21:37, the exact minute when the initial emergency call was placed two years earlier, the crowd observed a minute of silence as three church bells tolled from the tower. Evangelical Superintendent Ilka Werner and the chairwoman of the Solingen Catholic Council, Ulrike Spengler-Reffgen, formally opened the proceedings beside the memorial stone adjacent to the church.

Statements from state and local leaders

Solingen Mayor Daniel Flemm addressed the attendees, reflecting on the tragedy while emphasizing the town's determination to maintain its public life.

We will not be intimidated.

Flemm thanked the emergency responders who took immediate responsibility during the incident, noting that while three lives were cut short and eight others suffered severe injuries, community unity provides a path toward healing. Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst addressed the gathering alongside several members of his cabinet, including Deputy Minister-President Mona Neubaur, Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach, and Integration Minister Verena Schäffer. Wüst condemned the motive behind the violence, pointing to an intentional assault against a public festival.

Solingen shows what makes a free society strong: people who stand up for one another, who do not let themselves be divided by origin, faith, and skin colour, who hold together where others try to divide.

Attack details and court sentencing

The attack took place on 23 August 2024 during the "Festival of Diversity", organized to celebrate 650 years since Solingen received its town charter. The assailant, identified as Syrian national and rejected asylum seeker Issa al H., moved through the crowd at a concert on the Fronhof and attacked spectators with a knife. The assault resulted in three deaths and left eight people injured, several with life-threatening wounds. Police arrested the suspect the following day after a search across the city. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the stabbing, marking the first attack in Germany claimed by the organization since the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack.

The legal proceedings concluded at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, which sentenced Issa al H. roughly one year prior to life imprisonment accompanied by subsequent preventive detention. Following the attack, the North Rhine-Westphalia state government introduced a legislative package addressing security protocols, migration policies, and preventative measures.

Musical tributes and religious services

The evening memorial featured musical accompaniment by cantor Fabian Bischoff, who opened the service on the keyboard organ and concluded the ceremony with a rendition of the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome". Prior to the speeches, staff members from the emergency pastoral care service distributed candles to attendees, who placed lights across the flowerbed surrounding the commemorative plaque. The evening gathering followed an earlier memorial church service conducted on Sunday morning in Solingen.