Amsterdam police “do not want to comment on the possible identity and nationality of the suspect” who stabbed five people in the city centre on Thursday, according to Dutch daily De Telegraf. Police also claim his motives remain unclear.
The paper reports that the attacker may be from Eastern Europe, but that the true identity of the suspect—a man in his early forties—was hard to reveal because he used fake identification papers. On Friday afternoon, police said they have a possible name but “this needs to be investigated further.”
The perpetrator checked into a hotel on Wednesday, near where he stabbed innocent passers-by on Thursday, injuring five. Two of the victims sustained serious injuries. On Thursday evening, police raided the hotel. His five victims included four foreigners—an elderly American couple, a 73-year-old Belgian woman, a 26-year-old Polish man—and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam.
Following the rampage, he was overpowered by a British tourist and then taken into custody.
“The motive behind the attack is currently unclear and under investigation. Police are considering the possibility that the suspect may have randomly targeted victims, but the exact motive remains unknown,” said the Dutch police in a statement on Thursday.
