Scholz vows crackdown on weapons and illegal migration

SOLINGEN, Germany: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday the government would tighten weapons controls and speed up deportations after a suspected Islamist knife attack in the western city of Solingen.

Friday night´s deadly stabbing at a street festival has reignited a debate over immigration in the country and put extra pressure on Scholz ahead of key regional elections set for Sunday. “This was terrorism, terrorism against us all,” Scholz said on a visit to Solingen, where he laid flowers at a memorial to the victims.

A 26-year-old Syrian with suspected links to the Islamic State group is alleged to have carried out the attack, which left three people dead and eight more wounded. Scholz said he was “angry… at the Islamists who threaten our peaceful coexistence”.

“We will now have to tighten up the weapons regulations… in particular with regard to the use of knives,” Scholz said. Stronger weapons controls would come “very quickly”, Scholz said. Germany would also have to “do everything we can to ensure that those who cannot and must not stay here in Germany are repatriated and deported,” Scholz said.

The suspect, named as Issa Al H., was able to evade the police after the attack before reportedly handing himself in to law enforcement on Saturday evening. The Syrian was detained on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and belonging to a “terrorist group”.