The attack occurred in Amsterdam and left five people injured. Among the victims were a 67-year-old American woman, a 69-year-old American man, a 26-year-old Polish man, a 73-year-old Belgian woman, and a 19-year-old Dutch woman.
The suspect was apprehended after a British tourist chased him down, tackled him, and held him until police arrived. Authorities have announced that he will appear before an examining magistrate in Amsterdam, who will decide if he can continue to be detained before his trial.
In a statement, Dutch investigators said, “The police have now established the identity of the suspect in the stabbing. He is a 30-year-old man of Ukrainian nationality, from the Donetsk region (Eastern Ukraine).”
“This suspect will be brought before the examining magistrate of the court in Amsterdam on Tuesday 1 April, who will decide on a possible extension of the pre-trial detention,” the statement added. “The investigation team is still busy with the investigation. We can therefore not answer any other questions at this time.”
The suspect reportedly checked into a hotel in Amsterdam on March 26 and used multiple knives to attack people seemingly at random. He was later apprehended in Gravenstraat while trying to escape. Police have not yet identified a motive for the attack.
The Polish victim has been discharged from the hospital, while the other victims remain hospitalized in stable condition, a report by the Daily Mail noted.
The British tourist who stopped the attacker was honored by Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema for his “heroic” actions. In a post on social media, Halsema wrote, “This afternoon I will talk to the citizen who managed to overpower the suspect. To hear his story and to be able to thank him for his heroic act.”
In an interview with Dutch TV channel AT5, the mayor described him as a “very modest British man” who “has no desire to become famous. He is now mainly concerned with the victims, he feels responsible for them.”
A police spokesperson told AD, “He did a great job. We're very proud of him, but we also want to point out that you need to be very careful if you want to make a citizen's arrest. Most people are not trained for this sort of thing.”
