Solingen   -   A major manhunt is underway in Germany after an attacker stabbed to death three people at a festival on Friday evening in the western city of Solingen but police say they are yet to identify the suspect.

Police said a 15-year-old boy was arrested on Saturday in connection with the attack, but said he was not the alleged attacker, understood to be a lone male.

Those killed in the attack have been revealed as two men aged 67 and 56, and a woman aged 56. Eight others were injured, including four with life-threatening injuries. A police spokeswoman in nearby Duesseldorf said early Saturday that the ongoing manhunt extended beyond Solingen, and that numerous roadblocks had also been set up around the city. So far, there was still no detailed description of the suspect, with police seeking information about the Friday night attack -- including photos and videos -- via an online portal, the spokeswoman said.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, there was a large police presence at the scene including special forces and a helicopter, according to an AFP photographer. The attacker had “stabbed people indiscriminately with a knife”, the Bild daily reported. The festival was part of a series of events to celebrate the city’s 650th birthday.

In a statement posted online, Tim-Oliver Kurzbach, the mayor of Solingen, said the whole city was in “shock, horror and great grief”. “We all wanted to celebrate our town’s anniversary together and now we have to mourn the dead and injured,” he said.

Kurzbach thanked the emergency services for their work at the scene and expressed sympathy with those who had witnessed the attack.

“It tears my heart apart that there was an attack on our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we have lost. I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives,” he said.

Hendrik Wuest, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia state, also expressed his “shock and grief” in a post on social media platform X.

“An act of the most brutal and senseless violence has struck at the heart of our state,” he said.

“The whole of North Rhine-Westphalia stands by the people of Solingen, especially the victims and their families.”

Solingen is a city of some 150,000 people located an equal distance from Duesseldorf and Cologne. People had gathered in the town on Friday evening for the first day of a three-day “ Festival of Diversity “, according to the event’s website.

The festival was set to feature music, street theatre, variety shows and comedians in the city centre and several other areas, it said.

Up to 75,000 visitors had been expected to attend over the three days. The Solinger Tageblatt newspaper reported that one of the co-organisers of the festival had come on stage to call off the event.