Rotterdam fatal knife attack may have had terrorist motive, prosecutors say

The suspect in a deadly knife rampage Thursday in Rotterdam may have had a terrorist motive, Dutch prosecutors said Friday.

"The investigation conducted so far indicated that the suspect may be ideologically driven," prosecutors said in a statement. "For example, the suspect shouted 'Allahu Akbar' several times while committing the acts." Allahu Akbar means "God is great" in Arabic.

The 22-year-old assailant fatally stabbed a 32-year-old man from Rotterdam and wounded a 33-year-old Swiss national, prosecutors said. The Swiss national has been discharged from the hospital.

The suspect is a resident of Amersfoort, according to prosecutors, a city about 80 kilometers from Rotterdam.

Prosecutors said the attacker, who appeared briefly in court Friday and remains in custody, is facing charges of murder and attempted murder with a terrorist motive. As the investigation continues, prosecutors said other motives could emerge.

The assailant began his attack in a parking garage under Rotterdam's landmark Erasmus Bridge where he attacked his first victim, Reuters news service reported. He then moved up to the street level where the fatal attack occurred. The attacks appeared to be random.

The area near the bridge is popular and hosts cafes, bars and fitness classes. De Telegraaf newspaper reported that a personal trainer disarmed the suspect, while people threw chairs at him.

The Netherlands has experienced terrorist attacks over the years. In 2019, a gunman killed four people in a tram in Utrecht.

Also in 2019, police said they thwarted a terrorist attack that two suspected militants were planning to launch with suicide and car bombs.

In 2018, an Afghan man stabbed two American tourists in Amsterdam, the day after a Dutch politician announced the cancellation of a highly controversial contest to caricature the Prophet Muhammad. The assailant told the judge that his motivation for the stabbing was "to protect" the prophet. Any representation of the Prophet Muhammad is seen as a form of idolatry, something that is inconsistent with Islam's monotheism, according to Britannica.com.

In Amsterdam in 2004, Theo Van Gogh, a Dutch film director, was stabbed and shot to death. Van Gogh had received much criticism for his controversial film "Submission" about a Muslim woman forced into a sexually abusive arranged marriage. Police said Van Gogh's assailant was connected to a Dutch Islamist terror network.

Some information for this report came from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press.