THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A 22-year-old man arrested after a fatal stabbing in Rotterdam that left one person dead and another seriously wounded is suspected of murder and attempted murder with terrorist intent, prosecutors said Friday.
The Rotterdam Public Prosecution Service said in a statement that investigations into the suspect, whose identity has not been released, uncovered “indications that the suspect may be ideologically driven. For example, the suspect shouted Allahu akbar a number of times during the commission of the crimes.”
The stabbing Thursday night in central Rotterdam left a 32-year-old man from Rotterdam dead and a 33-year-old man from Switzerland wounded. Prosecutors say the Swiss man has left hospital after treatment. They did not elaborate on his injuries.
The suspect, who lives in the central city of Amersfoort, has previous convictions for violent crimes, prosecutors said in a statement. He will be arraigned on Monday at a court in The Hague.
They stressed that their investigation is “still in full swing and that other motives are also explicitly not ruled out.”
The Dutch government’s terror threat level is currently set at four out of a possible five, meaning that “there is a realistic possibility that an attack will take place in the Netherlands,” the national counterterrorism coordinator said in a statement in early August.
A sports instructor, Reniël Renato David Litecia, helped end the attack.
He said he initially thought a fight had broken out near the landmark Erasmus Bridge, “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.”
Police said the assailant is believed to have attacked one person in an underground parking lot and then a second victim near a busy terrace near one end of the bridge that spans the New Maas river, which runs through Rotterdam.
The attack in Rotterdam comes weeks after a fatal terror attack in neighboring Germany.
Late last month a knife attack at a festival in the German city of Solingen left three dead and eight wounded. Police detained a Syrian man on suspicion of murder and membership of a terrorist organization. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in Germany, without providing evidence.
FILE - The Erasmus Bridge towers over the river Maas in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, April 2007. (AP Photo/ Bas Czerwinski, File)
In this image made from video provided by Media TV, personnel respond to a stabbing incident late Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in the port city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Media TV via AP)
In this image made from video provided by Media TV, personnel respond to a stabbing incident late Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in the port city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Media TV via AP)
Manchester City’s stunning slump continued Saturday with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers at Villa Park consigned the four-time defending champion to a ninth defeat in 12 games in a season that is unravelling. Pep Guardiola’s team has won just once during that run.
“We have to stay positive, even though it’s difficult, and we have to keep working hard,” City striker Erling Haaland said.
Phil Foden pulled a goal back for City in stoppage time, but it wasn’t enough to spark a late comeback.
City dropped to sixth in the standings — nine points below leader Liverpool, having played two games more. Villa climbed to fifth.
City’s remarkable fall shows little sign of stopping, with Guardiola admitting last week that he had not been good enough to turn his team’s form around.
Defeat meant the once-dominant City is without a win in any of its last eight away games in all competitions. While it looks unlikely to win a fifth-straight title, a place in the top four and Champions League qualification could also be in jeopardy.
“We concede the goals we don’t concede in the past, we (don’t) score the goals we score in the past,” Guardiola said. “We have to think positive and I have incredible trust in the guys. Some of them have incredible pride and desire to do it. We have to find a way, step by step, sooner or later to find a way back.”
Only once under Guardiola has City managed to win the title when losing six times in the league. That was in the 2020-21 campaign, when it lost two of its last three games, having already been confirmed champion.
City lost nine times when Liverpool won the title in '19-20, but its sixth defeat didn't come until the February of that campaign. Guardiola also lost six times in the league in his first season in English soccer in '16-17 and City finished third in the standings.
The latest defeat could have been even more emphatic against a dominant Villa. Duran scored his sixth goal in as many starts in the 16th minute from Rogers’ assist.
Duran had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half and Rogers hit the post before doubling Villa’s lead in the 65th.
Foden's goal in the third minute of added time came too late for City.
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola, center, and players leave the field at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Aston Villa's Jhon Duran celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Manchester City's Phil Foden reacts after Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
