Up to 75,000 people were expected to visit Solingen this weekend to celebrate the city’s 650th anniversary.
The three-day “Festival of Diversity” was set to feature music, street theatre and comedy at venues across the city.
But this morning the streets are almost empty, with police roadblocks and cordons in place across much of the city as the search for the suspect continues.
The remainder of the festival was cancelled shortly after the fatal attack last night.
One of the festival organisers, Philipp Mueller, appeared on stage and urged festivalgoers to “go calmly; please keep your eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn’t been caught”, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
Thousands of people left the area, with one local journalist describing the atmosphere as “ghostly”, according to AFP news agency.
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