Father stabbed at Zwolle playground; suspect sought

A man was stabbed at a playground on Van Galenstraat in Zwolle on Sunday afternoon. The victim was taken to hospital with unknown injuries. The police are looking for the perpetrator. The victim is the father of a child who was playing at the playground at the time, local residents told RTV Oost.

Witnesses told newspaper AD that the victim made a comment about a joint the perpetrator was smoking. The perpetrator stabbed him four times and ran off. 

"It is terrible. Scandalous. Being stabbed after a comment about a joint. And then also in the presence of a small child", local resident Dinie Nijnlant said to AD. Two people came knocking at her door shortly after the attack. She called the emergency services and then went to the playground to see what was going on. "The victim stood there with his hands in front of his stomach. His hands were completely covered in blood."

While they were waiting for the first responders, the victim told what happened, Nijlant said. He was at the playground with his wife and child. "When he got there, a man was smoking a joint on a bench. He said to him: 'nice joint'. No more and no less. When he walked on, the man went after him and stabbed him."

According to the police, the stabbing was first reported to them at around 12:20 p.m. "The police launched an investigation and have already spoken to several witnesses", the police said in a statement. "The facts of the incident are not yet clear. The police would therefore like to get in touch with witnesses they haven't talked to yet."

The police also released a description of the suspected perpetrator. He is a lightly tanned man with an Asian appearance and a pockmarked face. The police believe he may be of Dutch-Asian descent. He is around 1.8 meters tall and about 30 years old. The man was waring a shiny black tracksuit with two light stripes.