Three people were killed and four others were seriously injured in a knife attack in the western German city of Solingen, police said.
The attack happened during a festival in the city center on Friday evening. It is reported that the attacker is still at large.
The Bild website says that a man stabbed passers-by. A search is currently underway with police helicopters flying over the city.
The industrial city was celebrating its 650th anniversary.
The city authorities asked people to leave the Fronhof market place and the police installed security cordons.
Emergency services at the scene are now treating the injured, media reports said.
Philipp Müller, one of the organizers of the festival, said that the emergency services fought for the lives of nine people, reported the newspaper Solinger Tageblatt.
“People were shocked, but they left the scene peacefully,” said Mr Müller.
Eyewitness Lars Breitzke told this newspaper that he knew something was wrong when he saw the singer on stage looking strange.
“Then a person crossed a distance away from me,” he said.
In a Facebook statement, Solingen Mayor Tim Kurzbach said: “Tonight all of us in Solingen are shocked, shocked and deeply saddened. We all wanted to celebrate our anniversary as a city together and now we have to mourn the dead and the injured.
“It hurts my heart that our city was attacked. I am moved to tears when I think of those we have lost. I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives. And I feel very sorry for all who heard this, these images must have been horrific.”
Solingen – a city in Rhineland-Westphalia famous for its steel industry – has a population of around 160,000. It is about 15 miles (25 km) east of Düsseldorf and northeast of Cologne.
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