Syrian suspect in Solingen attack faced deportation order

The Syrian man suspected of carrying out a knife attack in Solingen should have been deported to Bulgaria last year, dpa has learnt.

Under the provisions of the Dublin Convention, the EU country first entered by an asylum seeker is responsible for processing their asylum application, and dpa was told on Sunday that the native Syrian had entered the European Union via Bulgaria.

The newspaper Die Welt reported that the deportation order from Germany to Bulgaria was postponed because the man had gone into hiding in Germany. He reappeared months later and was subsequently transferred to Solingen.

The man confessed to police that he had carried out the knife attack in Solingen on Friday evening that left three people dead.

The federal prosecutor's office has taken over the case and is investigating the suspect for murder and suspected membership of the Islamic State terrorist group.