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. Authorities have not ruled out a terrorist motive.
The suspect, a 22-year-old man from Amersfoort (central Netherlands) and “known to the police”, was arrested, injured during his arrest, and is still in hospital, said a police spokesperson.
The suspect fatally injured a 32-year-old man from Rotterdam and seriously injured a 33-year-old Swiss man shortly after 8 p.m. in the Erasmus Bridge area, police said. According to Dutch media, witnesses said the suspect shouted “Allah Akbar” (God is greatest) during the attack.
Many people were present and police have launched an appeal for witnesses. Witnesses also told police that the man had stabbed people at random, according to Dutch news agency ANP.
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.”
Motivation not yet known
“A thorough investigation is underway” and witnesses are being questioned, the police spokeswoman said, without giving details on why the suspect was known to law enforcement.
“The circumstances are still unclear,” police said in a statement. “Nothing is excluded,” said Mirjam Boers, spokeswoman for the port city district, when asked about a possible terrorist motive.
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