Random stabbing at Groningen cafe leaves three hurt; One in custody

Three people sustained minor injuries in a stabbing on a terrace on Grote Markt in Groningen on Wednesday evening. A 67-year-old Groningen man was arrested and a weapon was confiscated, the Groningen police said the following morning.

Several ambulances were deployed to the scene when the police received a report of a stabbing with multiple victims. The police later confirmed that the three victims sustained only minor injuries, including two "bystanders who tried to overpower the suspect."

One of those bystanders said the attack seemed to be completely random. "It seemed to be a disoriented man, we didn't know him," said Anne, a 26-year-old who was one of the victims. She and her friends were halfway through a round of beer when the suspect came running towards the terrace from the street, she told RTV Noord.

"Without saying a word he stabbed my friend's neck with a knife. I thought, 'What is going on here, dude?'" she continued, saying it appeared he was about to stab her friend again. "Without thinking, I grabbed the man's hand and flung it across the table."

The motive for the stabbing is not yet clear, and people also suggested the suspect was in a troubled mental state at the time of the incident. A spokesperson for the police told NU.nl on Thursday that the victims do not know the suspect. "It seems that they are random victims", the spokesperson said. 

Forensic investigators collected trace evidence at the scene while other police officers spoke to witnesses. Authorities were still searching for more witnesses on Thursday, and planned to question the subject and analyze images collected from security cameras.