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Emergency helicopter landed outside the royal palace at Central Dam Square
Police say five people were injured when stabbed near Central Dam Square in Amsterdam.
The injured include two Americans, a Polish man, a Belgian woman and a Dutch woman. The youngest is 19 years old and the oldest is 73 years old. Police added.
The arrested male suspect was overwhelmed with the help of a bystander and was taken to the hospital with a leg injury.
Police say the motivation behind the attack is “under investigation,” but they consider the possibility that the suspects have chosen people at random.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said the police investigation was “full” and authorities hope to reveal details of what happened soon.
“Our hearts are directed at victims, their families and their loved ones,” she said.
The injured were a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man, both of whom are from the United States. A 26-year-old man from Poland. A 73-year-old woman from Belgium. A 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam.
Police said they received several reports of incidents that sting after 15:30 local time (14:30 GMT).
Officers then quickly arrived at the scene and found five injured people in various locations lined up Nicola Astrat in the city centre, police said.
With the help of bystanders, officers arrested the suspect shortly after the incident, police said.
Authorities have closed a large area around the royal palace at Central Dam Square, where the emergency helicopters have landed.
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The square is popular with tourists lying in the heart of the city’s historic district.
One witness told the Dutch newspaper de Telegraaf that he suddenly heard a “icy scream,” and then panic broke out in the area.
The shop assistant also said that she heard a lot of screams and screams and people started running, the paper reported.
Amsterdam outlet Hetparuru quoted the witness saying he approached the girl after hearing the noise. He saw the knife “protruding from the girl’s back between her shoulders” as someone else cried out to call an ambulance.
Police are urging anyone with images of the case to upload it as evidence.
The number of people injured was said to be four for a while, but in a later update, police said five were injured just like the suspect.
