Amsterdam city center stabbing leaves five injured; One arrested
Update: police later indicated that one of the people injured is suspected in the stabbings.
At least five people were hurt during a stabbing in the crowded city center of Amsterdam on Thursday afternoon. One person was arrested at the scene, but police said it was not yet known what led to the stabbing.
Those injured include one older man and an older woman, according to local broadcaster AT5. The incident happened in broad daylight on Sint Nicolaasstraat near the intersection with Nieuwezeijds Voorburgwal, just north of the Royal Palace and Nieuwe Kerk on Dam Square.
Police and paramedics were dispatched to the bustling neighborhood in the Amsterdam-Centrum district just after 3:15 p.m. The arrest was made at the scene, and medical personnel quickly began to treat the injured victims.
Victims were initially treated on the street in front of a shop that sells quilts, with signs in the storefront window written in both Dutch and English. “I heard knocking,” an employee of the quilt shop told Parool. “Then I saw that a girl had been stabbed in the back. A boy then ran away.”
Police also secured evidence in front of the popular Drie Fleschjes cafe on Gravenstraat, which has a large outdoor terrace. “An older woman was stabbed in the back, she was with her husband,” an employee who did not see the incident told Parool. He did see the woman on the ground. “It was very frightening for the customers. It was very grim.”
One witness said that they suddenly heard a “chilling scream,” and then panic broke out, according ot the Telegraaf. The newspaper also spoke to a shop worker who said she suddenly heard a great deal of shouting and commotion as people took off running.
A crisis team from the city gathered at the scene to handle the situation, a police spokesperson told the media gathered at the scene. He refused to answer questions about the motive, whether the stabbings all took place at the same location, and the severity of the injuries.
"There are several people injured and we're busy with that right now," he said. He added that more details would be shared imminently.
"We currently have no information about the cause or motive of the stabbing incident. That is part of our investigation," police in the capital said. Authorities asked anyone with photographs or video from the scene to contact them immediately.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema was attending a City Council meeting when she was informed of the stabbing. The meeting was suspended as the mayor urgently walked out of the room while on the phone. She briefly returned to collect her belongings while typing out a message on the device.
A trauma helicopter landed in the center of Dam Square and departed around 4:30 p.m., and a police forensics team also arrived at the location. Police cordoned off a wide area that was extended to include the popular square, and portions of the major shopping streets. The neighborhood is home to many hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes.
By 4 p.m., authorities elevated the incident response to a Grip 1 regional emergency. This protocol calls for all first responders to coordinate under a single incident commander.
The police cordon was gradually reduced, but parts of Dam Square near the Nieuwe Kerk church entrance was still restricted to the public at 4:45 p.m.
