A 15-year-old suspect was detained following a knife attack at a German festival, with terrorism as a possible motive.

Officials announced at a Saturday news conference that a 15-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with a deadly stabbing spree at a festival on Friday that resulted in three fatalities and eight injuries.

Following the horrific attack in the Fronhof, a market square in Solingen, the boy was detained.

The suspect was suspected of being aware of the planned attack but did not inform authorities, although he is not the attacker and the perpetrator is still at large.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested following two female witnesses' contact with police, who reported having heard a conversation between the boy and an unknown person prior to the attack, discussing intentions that aligned with the subsequent events.

Caspers stated that the police are investigating a possible terror motive for the attack, as there seems to be no other evident reason and the attacker is unknown to the victims. However, the police had not received any specific terror threat prior to the festival.

At approximately 9:35 p.m. local time on Friday, the victims were in front of a stage enjoying a live music band playing to commemorate the town's 650-year anniversary when the attack occurred.

The three victims of the attack were two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman, authorities stated. According to police, it seemed that the assailant had intentionally targeted the victims' throats.

The German police, led by Thorsten Fleiss, chief of operations on Friday night, is conducting searches and investigations across North Rhine-Westphalia state, which will continue until the end of the day.

On Saturday, the police cordoned off the square, prompting passers-by to place candles and flowers outside the barriers.

Last night, Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote that the incident was a "shocking event" that greatly affected him.

The perpetrator must be swiftly apprehended and punished to the fullest extent of the law for brutally killing several people, as Scholz wrote.

The city's mayor, Tim Kurzbach, expressed "shock" in a translated social media post following the attack.

"Tonight, we are all in Solingen, feeling shocked, frightened, and deeply saddened. We had planned to celebrate our city anniversary together, but now we must mourn the fallen and injured. The assassination attack on our town has broken my heart."

Earlier this month, the German government announced plans to tighten knife carrying rules in public places due to the infrequency of fatal stabbings and shootings.

In May, an Afghan migrant carried out a stabbing spree in Mannheim, Germany, injuring an anti-Islam activist and several others, including a police officer who died. Days later, a member of the German right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) was stabbed in the city while campaigning for the election.

The upcoming state elections in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg could see the Alternative for Germany (AfD) emerge victorious, with a potential for violence.

A top AfD candidate for one of the state elections, Bjoern Hoecke, seized on Friday's attack and posted on X: "Do you really want to get used to this? Free yourselves and end this insanity of forced multiculturalism."

This report was contributed to by Sarah Rumpf-Whitten of Planet Chronicle, Reuters, and the Associated Press.