Terrorism suspect in fatal stabbing at Rotterdam bridge says he was in psychotic state
The 22-year-old man arrested for stabbing people at random at the foot of the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam said he was in a state of psychosis at the time of the incident. The Public Prosecution Service currently suspects that Ayoub M. committed the crime with terrorism as a motive, an allegation which the Amersfoort man denied.
A 32-year-old Rotterdam resident was killed in the stabbing on September 19, and a 33-year-old Swiss man was seriously injured. M. was overpowered by bystanders before anyone else was harmed.
He broke down in tears when speaking about the incident during the first public hearing at the District Court in The Hague on Thursday. “I can’t believe what happened,” he said while crying during the preliminary proceeding. “I understand very little about it. When I read the case file, I’m just scared of what’s in it, of the photos.”
But M. denied that he was motivated in any way to carry out a shocking crime that undermined Dutch society. “I am not a terrorist,” he said during the hearing. “I never have been one, and I certainly do not support a terrorist group.”
M. refused to say anything during the initial interrogations when he was still in hospital for injuries suffered when he was prevented from attacking more people, the prosecutor said. Six days after the stabbing, he told the police that he had attacked the first victim because he was an atheist.
“Every man without a beard is an atheist,” the prosecutor quoted M. as saying during an interrogation session.
Witnesses said M. shouted “Allahu akbar” several times during the attack. The Arabic phrase is used by Muslims which means, “God is the greatest.”
During the summer months, M. had conversations online about the terrorist organization ISIS, and topics like jihad, according to the Public Prosecution Service (OM. He also viewed sermons from ISIS leaders.
When searching his room, the police found cut hair in a sink, which could indicate a purification ritual, according to the OM. The prosecutor has asked an expert for advice on the “ideological interpretation” of the suspect and his acts.
Further investigation by the police has shown that M. did not communicate with others about the knife attack. There is also no evidence that the violence was planned with the help of others, according to the Public Prosecution Service.
M. will undergo a behavioral examination by psychiatric experts at the Pieter Baan Center. The Public Prosecution Service is trying to obtain M.’s medical history in order to investigate whether there may have been a psychosis. M. previously stated that the psychosis was the result of a change in his medication.
M. was sentenced to mandatory psychiatric care at a TBS facility subject to certain conditions in 2022 after he seriously injured his mother with a knife.
The next hearing was set for March 3. The District Court in The Hague is hearing the case because a number of employees working at the Rotterdam District Court witnessed the violence.
