AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch police on Saturday probed a spate of stabbings in Amsterdam in which one person died and four were injured, but said there were no indications of terrorism.
Officers arrested a “confused” 29-year-old male suspect with possible substance abuse issues at the scene of Friday night’s attack, a police statement said.
A 64-year-old man was confirmed dead at the site in an area of bars and restaurants near the capital’s museum quarter while the other four victims were taken to hospital.
“The investigation team led by the Public Prosecution Service is keeping all options open, but at the moment has no direct indications that there is a terrorist motive,” Amsterdam police said.
The Netherlands’ terror threat level remained unchanged after the incident, broadcaster RTL Nieuws said.
Investigators searched the suspect’s home in the suburb of Amstelveen and took away data storage devices and a car, police said.
“Police have also spoken to several witnesses, some of whom described the man’s behavior as confused,” they said. “The investigation also focuses on possible substance use by the suspect.”
Emergency services rushed to the scene and two medical helicopters landed in a park next to the famed Van Gogh museum and Rijksmuseum.
Restaurants in the area were closed at the time of the stabbings because of coronavirus restrictions.
The Netherlands has suffered a number of terror attacks in recent years including the stabbing of two US tourists at Amsterdam’s railway station in 2018 by an Afghan man who was later jailed.
But there has also been a recent rash of crime in the capital, including an armed robbery on a cash van in Amsterdam earlier this week in which a suspect was killed after a high-speed chase with police.
© Agence France-Presse
