Public Prosecution Service demands 20 years imprisonment and TBS with compulsory treatment for fatal stabbing incident at Erasmus Bridge

News report | 01-12-2025 | 15:13

On September 19, 2024, the police received a report of a stabbing at the Erasmus Bridge. The perpetrator was said to have large kitchen knives and shouted Allahu akbar. A major alarm was immediately raised and a large police force rushed to the bridge. During the attack, a 32-year-old Rotterdam resident was fatally stabbed and a 33-year-old man from Switzerland was injured. The suspect not only stabbed two men but also tried to harm other victims with knives. Although there was great panic, some bystanders, thanks to their brave actions, managed to knock one of the knives out of the suspects hands. Others attacked the 23-year-old man by throwing chairs and other objects at him, eventually overpowering him. Based on investigations, camera footage, and witness statements, the Public Prosecution Service is convinced that the suspect committed these heinous acts with premeditation.

Terrorist intent

According to the Public Prosecution Service, it can only be concluded that the suspect committed the charged offenses with terrorist intent. The suspect had adopted radical-extremist ideology prior to the incident. He listened to extremist audio fragments shortly before the stabbing, shaved his head shortly before the incident—which can be seen as a cleansing ritual and final preparation for committing a jihadist act of violence—and then stabbed infidel victims at a prominent place in the city, shouting Allahu akbar. The Public Prosecution Service emphasized several times during the hearing that the suspects actions caused great fear and serious alarm among the population.

PBC

The suspect was examined in the PBC, and experts determined that the man has diminished responsibility and suffers from schizophrenia and addiction problems. Experts also found that he was severely psychotically disturbed before and after the offense. They consider it likely that he was severely psychotic at the time of the offense as well.

Fear

The public prosecutor: “Driven in part by his disorder-induced religious fanaticism, he caused irreparable suffering and widespread fear among the many witnesses present at the time, as well as among people who heard about it through the media or otherwise. The suspects attack caused serious fear in society. Not only among the residents of Rotterdam but also throughout the Netherlands, he caused a shock of dismay. The Public Prosecution Service assumes that this is exactly what the suspect intended with his terrorist attack: to cause a wave of fear and dismay in Rotterdam and the rest of the country.”