Moment German police drag terror suspect out of helicopter: Asylum seeking Syrian, 26, who handed himself in over festival attack that left three dead is named and hauled before court

The suspect in the shocking terrorist attack in Germany that gripped the world on Friday night has been named and charged for the first time.

The German public prosecutor’s office on Sunday ordered the pre-trial detention of “Syrian Issa Al H” on “strong suspicions of participation in a terrorist group abroad” and of murder and attempted murder.

The 26-year-old suspect came from a refugee center in Solingen that was searched Saturday, North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said. Authorities are still investigating his possible ties to the Islamic State.

Der Spiegel magazine reported, citing anonymous security sources, that the suspect had moved to Germany at the end of 2022 and applied for asylum.

Today he was dragged by federal police officers to his summons at the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) in Karlsruhe, Germany. The officers took him by helicopter to the courthouse in the southwest.

The attack took place during a Friday night festival at the Fronhof, a market square, where live bands were playing to celebrate Solingen’s 650-year history. Relatives have set up a makeshift memorial at the scene.

The tragic incident, and the militant group’s claim of responsibility, raised concerns among some politicians, who called for improved security, tighter gun controls, tougher sentences for violent crimes and restrictions on immigration.

The suspect came from a refugee shelter in Solingen that was searched on Saturday, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul said.

The suspect was dragged today by federal police officers to his arraignment at the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) in Karlsruhe, Germany. They brought him by helicopter to the southwestern courthouse.

A sign reading, “We just wanted to celebrate, but then death came,” is placed next to flowers and candles

Forensic police inspect the area where at least three people were killed and several injured when a man attacked them with a knife in Solingen in late August 2024, early on August 24, 2024

The suspect turned himself in late Saturday night and confessed to the crime, police and the public prosecutor’s office in Düsseldorf said in a joint statement on Sunday morning.

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

Friedrich Merz, a prominent politician who leads the centre-right opposition CDU party, urged the country to stop accepting refugees from Syria and Afghanistan.

“Enough is enough!” he wrote in a letter on his website.

The German Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has taken over the case and is investigating whether the suspect was a member of the Islamic State, a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office said.

The group described the man who carried out the attack as a “soldier of the Islamic State” in a statement on its Telegram account on Saturday.

An ambulance and police stand at the scene where at least three people were killed and several injured on August 24, 2024

A sign reading “Why?” among flowers and tributes on a sidewalk near the scene of the knife attack in Solingen, Germany

Candles and flowers and the inscription “Why? You are not alone” are depicted on August 24, 2024 near the area where three people were killed and several injured

Forensic police inspect the scene where at least three people were killed and several injured when a man attacked them with a knife in Solingen on August 23, 2024.

No evidence was provided to support this claim and details about the suspect’s possible membership in the group were not immediately known.

Hendrik Wuest, Prime Minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Solingen is located, called the attack on Saturday an act of terror.

According to Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), there have been about a dozen Islamist-motivated attacks since 2000. One of the largest was in 2016, when a Tunisian drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring dozens.

“The risk of jihadist-motivated acts of violence remains high. The Federal Republic of Germany remains a direct target of terrorist organizations,” the BKA said in the report earlier this year.