A MAN armed with “two long knives” has stabbed one person to death and seriously injured another in a horror attack in the Netherlands.
The suspect, now in police custody, allegedly went on a knife rampage in Rotterdam before a heroic bystander took him out.
Emergency workers at the scene of the stabbing near the Erasmus Bridge
RexPeople gather at the scene – cordoned off by cops[/caption]
Police tape placed near the bridge where the attack happened
According to Dutch broadcaster NOS, witnesses said the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” – meaning God is Greatest in Arabic – during the assault.
He is also seriously injured, according to reports.
Cops said their investigation is in “full swing” and called for witnesses to come forward.
A sports instructor who was giving a class near the Erasmus Bridge where the horror unfolded told NOS he managed to overpower the attacker.
“I saw a man with two long knives stabbing a young guy,” he said.
“I eventually managed to get them away.”
Pictures from the scene showed police and emergency services near the landmark bridge.
An ambulance and a medical tent were set up nearby.
Dutch daily De Telegraaf said a man was stabbed under the bridge, according to bystanders travelling over it.
The paper also cited witnesses who said the man shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.
Police spokesman Wessel Stolle said that there was no immediate information about a motive yet, but that cops are investigating all possibilities.
Stolle said police at the scene also heard the same phrase and that it is part of the investigation.
Sports coach Renil Renato David Litecia said he hit the attacker with two sticks after seeing him lunge at someone.
Litecia said he managed to wrestle the knives and throw them away.
He said he initially thought it was a fight, “but when I started running in that direction I saw that it wasn’t a fight”.
“It was a man with two long knives who was stabbing another young guy and when I started shouting he turned around and started approaching everyone who was around him.”
The identity of the victims and suspect are not yet known.
GettyThe Erasmus bridge, Rotterdam, where the attack took place[/caption]