Stabbed tourists in Amsterdam were US citizens
US ambassador to the Netherlands confirms identity of the two people wounded by a 19-year-old man.
Two people injured in a stabbing incident at Amsterdam’s central station on Friday were US citizens, the American ambassador to the Netherlands has said.
Pete Hoekstra said in a statement on Saturday that the pair, who have not been named, were tourists.
According to Dutch police, the attacker, a 19-year-old Afghan man with a German residency permit, was taken into custody shortly after the incident.
“At this moment he is under police custody in hospital. He is being questioned about his motive,” Amsterdam police spokesman Frans Zuiderhoek told AFP news agency.
“We are looking at all scenarios, also the worst scenario, which is terrorism.”
Dutch police were also in close contact with their German counterparts in regards to the suspect’s background, he added.
On Friday, Dutch police were quick to arrive at the scene with video footage showing the police ordering the suspect in English to “stay down” after they shot him.
A special police department has also opened a routine probe into why police shot the man.
The Netherlands has so far been spared from attacks that have rocked its closest European neighbours in the past few years.
But amid a number of scares and reports that people linked to some of those attacks may have crossed briefly into the country, top Dutch security and intelligence officials have stressed that the threat level is substantial.