Knife waving man arrested in The Hague

The police arrested a man on Grote Markt in The Hague on Wednesday afternoon. He was walking around with a knife in his hand, calling unintelligible things, a spokesperson for the police confirmed to newspaper AD.

The incident happened early in the afternoon, near the terraces on Grote Markt. Eyewitness Rene van der Wilk told the newspaper that the man took a knife from a table at diner Hoender en Hop. "He walked back and forth across Grote Markt, in the direction of Zeta and then back to Hoender en Hop", Van der Wilk said. "An employee from Grote Markt went after him and asked him to drop the knife. He refused."

According to the police, the man called some unintelligible things and at one point put the knife to his own throat, but did not threaten any bystanders. The man was overpowered by five police officers next to Hoender en Hop. He was arrested.

Bystanders noted that the man was "remarkably calm", according to the newspaper. "He did not scream, he just walked back and forth", Van der Wilk said. "In fact, everyone only understood exactly what happened after the arrest." Another witness: "Before we knew what was going on, the perpetrator was already overpowered."

This is the second incident involving a man with a knife in The Hague in a short time. On Liberation Day Malek F. stabbed three people near the Haagse Hogeschool. The police shot him in the leg before being able to arrest him.

A video posted online after the stabbing shows that Malek F. shouted 'Allahu akbar' when he was shot. This led to discussion among politicians, according to AD. Shortly after the stabbings, mayor Pauline Krikke of The Hague said that it was not a terrorist attack, but the actions of 'a disturbed man'. This upset the PVV and VVD, among others.