While the Solingen attacker is still on the run and some of his victims are struggling to stay alive in hospital, the German news programme tagesschau24 is speculating about the motive for the attack. The ‘southern appearance’ (previously described as ‘Arabic’) of the perpetrator is not mentioned. Instead, the correspondent in Solingen speculates that the attack could have been carried out because ‘people are perhaps against foreigners, for example’. The reporter goes on to say that this cannot be answered precisely. There are ‘various possibilities that could be behind it’. However, German public broadcaster ZDF has also failed to make a name for itself in its coverage of the attack in Solingen. They do address the witness statements that the perpetrator had an Arab appearance, but not without immediately relativising the information in a subordinate clause. When asked by the presenter whether there is any further information about the perpetrator, the reporter explains that there are ‘witness statements’ that ‘according to them, the perpetrator is an Arab-looking man’. But then he says: ‘Whatever that means’.
Following the attack at the 650th anniversary celebrations in Solingen, in which three people were killed and eight others injured, more and more details are gradually emerging about the fugitive perpetrator. Originally, there was talk of a man with an Arab appearance. However, two young people reported two perpetrators who ‘stabbed people’ and tried to ‘slit their throats’. They described the men as being of Turkish-Moroccan origin, one with a patchy full beard, the other with a moustache. Both were dressed in black. According to police circles, they are looking for a single perpetrator with a ‘southern appearance’, 20 to 30 years old and an athletic build
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