Man, oh, man.
The knife thing is so bad. This afternoon, it was Amsterdam and the five victims included a pair of older American tourists, along with some other folks who were horribly attacked while enjoying the main square of the city.
Here we go again.
— Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@EvaVlaar) March 27, 2025
Someone just stabbed 5 people on the Dam Square - Amsterdam’s main square.
According to eyewitnesses an elderly woman and a young girl were stabbed in the back. A trauma helicopter was flown in to take care of the victims.
The knifeman has been arrested, but… pic.twitter.com/QW3i0HGW7F
In 'the heart of historic Amsterdam.'
...Many of the victims are foreigners, possibly tourists from abroad who were visiting the city.
"Among the victims are a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man, both American nationals; a 26-year-old man from Poland; a 73-year-old man from Poland; a 73-year-old woman from Belgium; and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam," Dutch police said.
According to eyewitness reports, the youngish man ran through the area, randomly driving his knife into people he came upon as he barrelled through.
...One witness told Dutch media that the attacker had stabbed a young woman in the back, with the perpetrator then running away.
"I saw a knife at least 10 centimeters (nearly four inches) sticking out of the girl's back, between her shoulders," they told Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool.
Oh, I can't imagine the horror.
...Witnesses have described the fear and chaos that gripped the heart of Amsterdam’s tourist district during a stabbing spree that left five people injured, including the suspected attacker.
An elderly woman is reportedly among the four victims of the knifing attacks that unfolded about 3:30pm local time on Thursday near Amsterdam’s central Dam Square.
A shop worker told The Independent he saw people injured on the ground during scenes of “panic” and confusion as people fled the scene of the stabbing.
“People definitely started to panic, and some people ran away in different directions because no one really knew what was happening. It was a panicky situation,” said the staff member at nearby Flagship Bike Tours, who gave his name as Louis H.
Multiple people stabbed in Amsterdam.
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) March 27, 2025
pic.twitter.com/Cf8h0dxW0E
One brave young man ran the attacker down, tackled him, and then held him until police arrived. God bless him.
A true hero emerged today in Amsterdam when a brave bystander tackled and held down a suspect who had just stabbed five people near Dam Square.
— A3N 🌎 (@swee52767) March 27, 2025
Despite the chaos, this individual restrained the attacker until police arrived, likely preventing more harm. pic.twitter.com/8EahxiID8b
Who knows how many lives he saved?
It sounds as if the crowd meted out some justice of its own once the fiend was down.
...“I was trying to get to work and everything was closed down and locked off. The guy was lying there right in front of my work,” the employee, who declined to be named, said.
“Apparently some guy kicked him and broke his ankle. He got kicked down [by some bystanders] because he tried to run away ... I think somebody kicked him in the face as well. It sounds like it was well deserved.”
The stabbings took place in various locations. Dutch newspaper Het Parool reported that an elderly man and a student-aged boy were stabbed on Sint Nicolaasstraat, a side street off the high street, Nieuwendijk.
The suspect was reported to have then walked towards the road of Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, where witnesses said he stabbed a young woman on the corner of the two streets. Another woman was also reportedly stabbed closer to the square on Gravenstraat, before the suspect was arrested on Nieuwendijk.
No idea about a motive yet, of course. Nor any word about the suspect himself.
He doesn't exactly look like a juvenile either, but knives, especially in the hands of 'youths,' have increasingly become a concern for the Dutch as well.
The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) is worried about the prevalence of knife possession amongst minors. Over the past two years, the NFI researched seized bladed and edged weapons and created a knife database. The database and recent studies show that edged weapons seized from minors are larger than average and intended to inflict the gravest possible injuries. The police share the NFI’s concerns.
The concerns about the possession and use of knives among minors are not new. In the past, it already became clear that 12 to 18-year-olds are increasingly involved in stabbing incidents. The number of arrests of minors for possession of illegal (bladed) weapons also rose significantly in recent years. The NFI decided to do research on the types of knives carried by minors after a stabbing incident with drill rap groups in Scheveningen.
After consultation with the Dutch National Police and the Public Prosecution Service, the institute was given permission to study knives seized in the eastern Netherlands during search or surrender operations. The knives are normally destroyed but some of them have now been included in an NFI reference database.
If this man turns out to be an immigrant, this attack could very well inflame an already volatile situation concerning the Dutch government and its immigration policies. Citizens are already becoming restless.
A protest against the planned construction of an asylum seekers’ center in a Dutch town escalated on Thursday evening when demonstrators threw dozens of eggs at the town hall, set off fireworks, and later hung pigs’ feet on the fence of the proposed center’s location.
The protest, organized by the local action group “Nee tegen azc” (No to Asylum Seekers’ Center), drew hundreds of residents angry about the recently announced plans to house 240 to 270 refugees in Berlicum, southeast of the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
Though the topic was not on the agenda of the council meeting taking place inside, protesters gathered outside to voice their discontent.
Signs and banners were draped over the building while fireworks were launched by local residents. One man, a 32-year-old from Sint-Michielsgestel, was arrested while attempting to detonate heavy fireworks, according to police, who also confirmed the majority of demonstrators appeared to be from the local community.
One sardonic British wag in the comments where everyone is still speculating on the attacker's identity said he was, 'Possibly a choir boy from Cardiff.'
That's how European authorities roll all too often, skittish as they are about their unassimilated immigrant population and its inclination towards acting out with vehicles and blades.
The mayor is offering prayers and asking for witnesses and surveillance footage. I have read they raised the terror alert level, but there's no mention of it on the Amsterdam police site.
Mayor Halsema, mayor of Amsterdam on behalf of the Amsterdam Police and the Amsterdam Public Prosecution Office:
“The police investigation is in full swing and is currently the highest priority. We hope to gain clarity soon about the background of this horrific stabbing incident. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and loved ones.”
That's all they've got right now.
Ebola and his sweet girl were just there a month ago.
Man.
Stay frosty.
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