The Dutch police on Saturday sought the man suspected of wounded three young miners in a knife attack the day before in a busy shopping street in The Hague, crowded on this day of sales "Black Friday". The suspect fled after the assault, which took place in a downtown department store, causing scenes of panic among the crowd of customers.
"We are currently considering all scenarios," said a police spokeswoman, quoted by the Dutch press agency ANP, who is still looking for the author of the attack. The police initially said they were looking for "a dark-skinned man," aged between 40 and 50, wearing a black coat, gray sweatpants, and a scarf, before changing their minds. "thorough investigations" were still ongoing.
Busy artery
The three injured people are minors, and all were able to leave the hospital to return to their homes, the police said, without specifying their age. The attack occurred in a department store in the "Grote Marktstraat", a busy thoroughfare in the city's largest shopping district. Two teenage girls ran into the building after being stabbed, NOS television said, citing witnesses.
"I saw two girls screaming"
"I saw two girls screaming and running away, a man ran away, he jumped very athletically over the benches to run away, he looked like a cheetah," a witness told NOS . Social media images showed panicky customers, running away from the scene. It occurred not far from the Parliament, seat of the government and home to many international organizations.
The Netherlands has experienced several terrorist attacks or attempts in recent years. Last March, four people were killed by a man from Turkey, Gokmen Tanis, who opened fire on a streetcar in Utrecht. He is being prosecuted for homicide for terrorist purposes. Monday Dutch police announced the arrest of two men suspected of preparing a terrorist attack in the Netherlands at the end of the year with explosive belts and a car bomb.