A Swiss man was seriously injured in a knife attack that left one person dead in Rotterdam on Thursday night, Dutch police said on Friday. The suspect is suspected of having had a “terrorist motive” linked to Islamism, according to the Dutch prosecutor’s office.
The suspect, who had previous convictions for violence, appeared briefly in court on Friday, where he was remanded in custody. He was seriously injured during his arrest on Thursday and hospitalized.
“The suspect shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ (God is the greatest, editor’s note) several times while committing the acts,” the prosecution said. “The public prosecutor currently suspects the 22-year-old man from Amersfoort of murder and attempted murder with a terrorist motive,” it said in a statement.
“The investigation conducted so far indicates that the suspect could be guided by ideological reasons,” he added. “The investigation is continuing and other motives for the attack cannot be explicitly ruled out either,” he added.
Passers-by attacked
Witnesses said the young man attacked passers-by with “two large knives” near the Erasmus Bridge, an area with many cafes and bars and popular for sports training. A 32-year-old man from Rotterdam was killed. A 33-year-old Swiss man, who had been hospitalized with injuries, has “been released from hospital,” prosecutors said.
The national news agency ANP quoted witnesses as saying that the young man apparently attacked people randomly shortly after 8 p.m.
Stopped by a sports teacher
One of the two victims was stabbed in a parking lot, the other nearby, at the foot of the Erasmus Bridge, according to public media NOS. The suspect was overpowered and arrested by passers-by and police officers. “He was also injured” and “taken to hospital after his arrest,” according to the police.
A sports teacher who was giving a lesson near the Erasmus Bridge told NOS on Thursday evening that he had stopped the attacker. “I saw a man with two long knives stabbing a young man,” he said. “I finally managed to subdue him.”
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