Suspect held over Amsterdam stabbing that left woman lying in a pool of blood

Police in Amsterdam arrested a 22-year-old man over the weekend in connection with two separate stabbings that took place in the city center last month. In the most recent of the two incidents, a woman was stabbed multiple times, and left critically injured in a pool of her own blood.

That violent crime happened at the corner of Warmoesstraat and Oudebrugsteeg at about 3 a.m. on September 7. An emergency services operator said they were able to hear a great deal of screaming and panic in the background when the incident happened, and sent police to the scene.

The woman was found at the intersection with Oudebrugsteeg after a bystander had used a belt as a tourniquet around the woman's leg to slow the bleeding, police said. Officers who arrived quickly after the incident said that it became clear while they provided first aid she had several stab wounds. An ambulance rushed her to an area hospital.

Less than a week earlier, a man was also stabbed on Prins Hendrikkade. The victim complained about the man's behavior, leading to a confrontation with his assailant at about 1:35 a.m. on September 2. The perpetrator then stabbed the man in his hand. The victim was later treated in a hospital, police said.

He was spotted by police officers at about 2 a.m. on Sunday while police were running an operation in De Wallen, a part of the old city center that includes the Red Light District. The officer who saw the man recognized him as the suspect identified in the investigations into the two stabbings, which had not resulted in an arrest.

Police officers used their access to a series of cameras to keep tabs on the suspect. He was ultimately taken into custody on the Damrak. Police did not comment on the possible motive behind either stabbing.

In the days following his arrest, he was brought before a magistrate who extended his initial pre-trial detention by two weeks. A court can decide in upcoming hearing to extend the suspects detention. It can be extended by up to 90 days at a time.