Friday, 28
March 2025 - 08:30
Motive
for Amsterdam stabbing still unknown; Justice Minister cannot rule out
terrorism
The motive
for the stabbings that left five people injured near Dam Square in Amsterdam on
Thursday is still unknown. Justice Minister David van Weel cannot rule out an
act of terrorism, he told RTL Nieuws on Thursday. “There is still far too much
uncertainty at this stage,” he told the broadcaster. The suspect is in custody.
The
apparently random stabbings happened at around 3:15 p.m. on Nieuwzijds
Voorburgwal, Sint Nicolaasstraat, and Nieuwendijk, near Dam Square. Those
injured include a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man from the United
States, a 73-year-old woman from Belgium, a 26-year-old man from Poland, and a
19-year-old Dutch woman living in Amsterdam. Two of the victims were critically
injured. The other three sustained serious injuries.
On Thursday
evening, the police raided a hotel on Dam Square, near where the stabbings
happened. A police spokesperson confirmed to the media that the raid was
connected to the investigation into the stabbings. The raid happened after the
suspect was in custody.
A
receptionist at the hotel told RTL Nieuws that a group of about 20 officers
came into the hotel. “They asked for a specific guest and a specific room,” he
said, refusing to divulge anything about the person’s identity. “They were
inside for an hour to an hour and a half.”
Amsterdam
mayor Femke Halsema spoke of a “horrible stabbing,” adding that the
investigation is “in full swing.”
The
stabbings were stopped by a bystander, who pinned down the attacker. According
to the police, he performed a citizen’s arrest. That is permitted if a citizen
witnesses a crime, a police spokesperson told ANP. “If you catch a suspect
red-handed, you are allowed to hold him until the police arrive,” he explained.
The police
cordoned off several streets for investigation. They were reopened late last
night.
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