THIS is the incredible moment a ‘hero Brit’ wrestles and pins the Amsterdam knifeman who stabbed five in a ‘random’ attack.
The tourist who stopped city-centre rampage and detained the suspect has been hailed as “heroic” by local police.
An English-speaking hero wrestled and detained the Amsterdam knifeman to stop his spree@RadioGenoa / X
The passerby held the attacker down until police arrived to arrest him@RadioGenoa / X
Police said the hero was a tourist in the city, but did not give his nationality@RadioGenoa / X
The brave man spoke English with a British accent, according to local reports, though the authorities have not confirmed his nationality.
Incredible footage shows the unidentified tourist kneeling on top of the attacker, who he has pinned face-down on the tiled square.
He previously chased down the knifeman, bringing an end to several minutes of deranged violence.
The attacker’s hands are pulled behind his back, held fast by seemingly highly-trained tourist.
He appeared comfortable dealing with the dangerous criminal, leading to speculation he was an off-duty policeman or soldier.
Dutch police later swooped on the assailant and took him to hospital for treatment to a leg wound.
“Several eyewitnesses who have spoken to him [said] that he is from England,” reported Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
A police spokesman also told AD: “He did a great job. We’re very proud of him, but we also want to point out that you need to be very careful if you want to make a citizen’s arrest.
“Most people are not trained for this sort of thing.”
Maarten Brinkm, head of the ACP police union, said: “A big thumbs-up for the decisive action of this hero. The heroic citizen can count on massive praise.”
Cops explained he had stopped attacker with a citizen’s arrest, where “if you catch a suspect red-handed, you can hold him until the police arrive”.
The victims of the stabbings were a 67-year-old American woman and a 69-year-old American man, a 26-year-old Polish man, a 73-year-old woman from Belgium and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam.
Officials have not concluded what motivated the attack, but said they are considering that it was a random spree and/or terrorism.
Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema, said: “The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to soon get more clarity about the background of this horrible stabbing.
She added: “Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and loved ones.”
XThe attacker struck in the middle of a crowed Dam Square[/caption]
A helicopter landed in the iconic plaza
Paramedics rushed to the scene on Thursday afternoonRex
Amsterdam’s justice and security minister, David van Weel, said it was “much too early” to give details on the background to the attack.
He added that the investigation had not ruled out terrorism as a motivation.
In the aftermath, a trauma team was deployed via helicopter, which landed directly on the iconic Dam Square, and a large cordon set up.
According to a worker at the local De 3 Fleschjes bar, diners saw an older woman and a young girl being stabbed in the back before falling to the ground.
One shopkeeper told local newspaper Parool: “I heard a knock and then I saw a girl had been stabbed in the back and a boy ran off.”
Another witness told De Telegraaf they suddenly heard an “icy scream” before panic broke out.
A third person added she heard a lot of shouting and screaming as people were seen running on the streets.
A meeting at Amsterdam’s Stopera building was interrupted, and mayor Halsema was pulled out of a council meeting when news of the attack broke.
Anyone with footage of the incident has been urged to submit it to police to help the investigation.
APA large cordon sealed off the site[/caption]
EPAPolice cars and tapes could be seen near local pubs[/caption]
Amsterdam suffered several stabbing last year carried out by people with mental health problems.
The council set up a hotline for residents to reports concerns about suspicious or irrational behaviour.
Thursday’s city-centre attack also follows a spate of terror-motivated violence across Europe.
A Syrian asylum seeker was charged with murder after a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death in a knife rampage in Austria.
Officials say the 23-year-old was motivated by “Islamic terrorism” before his alleged role in the bloodbath attack that left five others injured.
And in Munich, a mum and her child tragically died from serious injuries after a suspected Islamist terrorist rammed his Mini Cooper into a crowd.
The woman, 37, and her two-year-old daughter were among the 39 injured in the “shocking attack” said to be carried out by a rejected Afghan asylum seeker.
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