One person killed in a spate of stabbings in Amsterdam

Police are not treating the attacks as terrorism

Amsterdam’s Mayor Femke Halsema and officials stand near floral tributes on Saturday after several people were stabbed in the Dutch city. AFP

Dutch police are investigating a spate of stabbings in Amsterdam in which one person was killed and four others were injured.

The attacks happened on Friday night in an area with bars and restaurants near the capital's museum quarter.

On Saturday, police said they were not treating the attacks as terrorism.

A 29-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

“The police are conducting an extensive investigation into the various incidents and the circumstances,” Amsterdam police said in a statement.

“The investigation team led by the public prosecution service is keeping all options open, but at the moment has no direct indications that there is a terrorist motive.”

The Netherlands’ terrorism threat level remained unchanged after the incident, broadcaster RTL Nieuws said.

Police said they were initially called to a report of one stabbing, but “on the spot it became clear that four other stabbing incidents had taken place in the immediate vicinity, a total of five victims”.

“One of the victims died on the spot. The four other victims were taken to hospital,” police said.

Emergency services rushed to the scene and two medical helicopters landed in a park next to the Van Gogh museum and Rijksmuseum.

Restaurants in the area were closed at the time of the stabbings because of coronavirus restrictions.

The Netherlands has suffered several terrorist attacks in the past few years, including the stabbing of two US tourists at Amsterdam railway station in 2018 by an Afghan man who was later jailed.

But there has also been a recent surge of crime in the capital, including an armed robbery on a cash van in Amsterdam on Wednesday in which a suspect was killed after a high-speed chase with police.