German leaders have paid tribute to three people killed in a knife attack by a suspected Islamic extremist which has pushed immigration back to the top of the country’s political agenda.

Eight people were also injured in the attack at the Festival of Diversity marking the 650th anniversary of the city of Solingen in western Germany on August 23.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at a memorial event in the city on Sunday that he is “relieved and thankful” none of those injured are now in serious danger.

The 26-year-old Syrian suspect, who was arrested a day after the attack, was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria last year but reportedly disappeared for a time and avoided deportation.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier under spotlight in the distance on a stage, with an audience in the foreground
Mr Steinmeier described the knife attack as a ‘horrifying crime’ (Michael Probst/AP)

In recent days, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has announced new restrictions on knives and measures to ease deportations.

On Friday, it deported Afghan nationals to their homeland for the first time since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, following up on a pledge made in June after a previous attack.

At the memorial, which was also attended by Mr Scholz and other senior officials, Mr Steinmeier said: “It is a horrifying crime that brings us together today, carried out by a man who, according to everything we know, sought and found protection here, and abused this protection so terribly.

“That is also intolerable.

Olaf Scholz listens as he sits in an audience
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also attended the commemoration service (Michael Probst/AP)

“We are for good reason a country that takes in people who seek protection from political persecution and war.

“We want to remain that country, but ultimately we can only do so if the number of those who are not entitled to this special protection does not overburden us.

“We must make every effort to implement the entry rules that exist and the ones that are now being drawn up. This must be a priority in the coming years.”

The attack in Solingen has also reawakened painful memories of a racist firebomb attack on a Turkish family’s home in the same city in which five women and girls were killed in 1993. Four young Germans were later convicted.

“There was already one shocking Solingen attack, now a second,” mayor Tim Kurzbach said. “Why always Solingen?”