(NL Times) The 22-year-old man arrested for stabbing people at random at the foot of the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam said he was in a state of psychosis at the time of the incident. The Public Prosecution Service currently suspects that Ayoub M. committed the crime with terrorism as a motive, an allegation which the Amersfoort man denied.
A 32-year-old Rotterdam resident was killed in the stabbing on September 19, and a 33-year-old Swiss man was seriously injured. M. was overpowered by bystanders before anyone else was harmed.
He broke down in tears when speaking about the incident during the first public hearing at the District Court in The Hague on Thursday. “I can’t believe what happened,” he said while crying during the preliminary proceeding. “I understand very little about it. When I read the case file, I’m just scared of what’s in it, of the photos.”
