2021 Photo of Stabbing Incident Resurfaces as Recent Knife Attack in Solingen, Germany
The Claim
:3-dead, several injured in knife attack at festival in Solingen, Germany. This photo shows the attacker.
News posted on
Emerging story
Following the recent deadly knife attack in Solingen, Germany, social media users widely spread two photos purporting to feature a black man holding a knife, allegedly identifying him as the suspect in the incident.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the two photos and found the claim to be misleading.
After conducting a thorough reverse image search, Misbar’s team found the photos making the rounds to be outdated.
Old Photos show the 2021 Würzburg Stabbing Incident Perpetrator
Contrary to the viral claim on social media, the two photos are not related to the recent knife attack in Solingen, Germany. The photos depict the suspect from a 2021 stabbing incident in Würzburg, Germany.
The Times of Israel reported on the Würzburg attack, publishing a photo of the suspect on June 25, 2021, under the headline, “Three people killed, six injured in knife attack in Germany’s Wuerzburg.”
Moreover, the Irish Sun uploaded the two photos in a report on the Würzburg incident, which was published on June 28, 2021.
Three Killed in a Knife Attack in Würzburg, Germany
A man holding a knife killed three people and seriously injured several others in the southern city of Würzburg in June 2021 before being shot by police and arrested, according to German authorities.
Germany's Bild newspaper reported that six additional people were injured in the attack, which took place in a central area of the Bavarian city. Teh police identified the suspect as a 24-year-old Somali man residing in Würzburg. Despite being shot, his life was not in danger, they added.
Videos circulating on social media show the alleged attacker, barefoot and seemingly holding a knife, as some passersby attempt to fend him off.
Knife Attack Claims Three Lives in Solingen, Germany
On August 24, three people were killed and eight others injured, five of them seriously, in a knife attack at a street festival in Solingen, Germany. The victims included two men aged 56 and 67 and a 56-year-old woman. Police reported that all the victims were stabbed in the neck, with four of the injured still in serious condition.
According to the BBC, citing police on Sunday, a 26-year-old man surrendered to authorities and confessed to the mass stabbing. "The involvement of this person is currently under intensive investigation," stated prosecutors and Düsseldorf police.
Germany's federal prosecutor is investigating him for murder, attempted murder, and membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
The attack took place during a festival celebrating Solingen's 650-year history, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned as a "horrific act."
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday but did not provide any evidence of a connection to the suspect. Police described the man as Syrian, and German media reported that he had arrived in Germany in December 2022.
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