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Amsterdam station attack: Police shoot suspect after stabbing in Dutch capital

Authorities considering 'all possible scenarios' as knifeman injures two at busy rail terminal

Tom Barnes
Friday 31 August 2018 13:05 BST
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Amsterdam station attack: police cordon off Centraal station

Police in the Dutch capital have shot and wounded a suspect following a stabbing at Amsterdam's busy central railway station.

Two people were injured in the stabbing, according to officials, with the tunnel under the station's tracks closed following the incident.

Witnesses reported people fleeing the scene in all directions as the incident unfolded.

“Was at Central Station in Amsterdam and heard two gunshots, everybody started running like crazy and taking shelter in stores and shops… crazy stuff man,” wrote Michiel de Graaf on Twitter.

In a statement Dutch police said both the suspect and an injured victim had been taken to hospital following the attack.

“Both the suspect and the two victims of the stabbing incident were transferred to the hospital for treatment,” a police spokesperson said.

“An extensive investigation is carried out on site. At this moment the police cannot report anything about the background of the stabbing incident.”

The motive for the stabbing was not immediately clear.

Local television station AT5 has reported the attack has followed an argument.

Amsterdam police said on Twitter “all possible scenarios” would be considered during its investigation.

“There was huge chaos at the station,” Jaime van Gastel told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. “It was teeming with police. I saw something like fifteen cars and a lot of agents.

“I saw a bag lying down, so maybe I was thinking about a bag left behind or a suspicious package. but then I saw that an ambulance employee with first-aid equipment was running to the station.

“Someone told me that there was a man who had stabbed people. What exactly happened is still very unclear.”

Central Station is a major transport hub in the Dutch capital and is often filled with tourists travelling to and from the city’s Schiphol airport.

Friday is a particularly busy day at the terminal, with thousands of people arriving to spend the weekend in Amsterdam.

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