Suspect in Erasmus Bridge stabbing in Rotterdam has pre-trial detention extended

The man from Amersfoort who is suspected of a deadly stabbing incident at the Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam will spend three months longer in pre-trial detention. The presiding judge of the court in The Hague decided this on Wednesday.

A 32-year-old man from Rotterdam lost his life during the stabbing incident on Thursday, September 19. A 33-year-old man from Switzerland was also injured. The first public hearing in the court in The Hague will be on 19 December. The Public Prosecution Service will then explain the status of the investigation at that hearing.

The Public Prosecution Service suspects the man of murder and attempted murder with a terrorist motive. It was reported earlier that the suspect was known to police and the justice department prior to the incident. He had been convicted for violent incidents in the past.

He had used a knife to stab his mother in her neck and throat in 2022. She survived the attack. Experts at the time ruled that the man suffered from "a pathological disorder of the mental faculties", and the court ordered the man to undergo psychiatric treatment at a TBS facility.

The Rotterdam court will not hear this case because several court employees were among the bystanders to the stabbing.