Maastricht fatal stabbings an "act of revenge": report

A stabbing incident in Maastricht that left two people dead on Thursday night, may have been an act of revenge, the Telegraaf reports. According to the newspaper, the male victim was known to abuse his wife and children for years and police responded to the home several times. A 37-year-old Syrian man was arrested, according to the newspaper.

The male victim's wife and kids left their home on Botsaarsstraat, according to the newspaper. The suspect showed up there on Thursday night and killed the man, also a Syrian. Then he went to another address on Joseph Postmesstraat. There a woman was stabbed to death and two people were injured. According to the Telegraaf, the injured people are children.

"We knew that there were major problems. The man who is now dead was a bully. It was known that he abused his wife and children", a local resident said to the Telegraaf. "I can just imagine that a family member of that abused woman came to get revenge." Why the man went to the address on Joseph Postmesstraat, is not clear.

Later in the evening, the police found another injured man in a nearby mosque. This turned out to be the suspect, who was arrested and taken to hospital. The police only identify the man as a 37-year-old from Maastricht. "What his role and motive were, is currently being investigated", the police said in a statement on Friday. So far the police haven't been able to speak to the suspect or the victims.

Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security described the suspect as a "very disturbed person", according to RTL Nieuws. He called the incident in which two people were killed and three hurt "extraordinarily tragic".