A British man was congratulated to tackle an alleged knife on the ground in the center of Amsterdam.
The tourist, who does not wish to be appointed, retained the suspect after five people were stabbed near the place of the Dutch capital barrage on Thursday.
The video of the incident shows the Briton, carrying jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt, kneeling on his back and twisting his arm until the police arrive.
The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, said that she was impressed by his decisive action, telling the local broadcasters that he showed an “exceptional” instinct.
The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, said that she was impressed by his decisive action, telling the local broadcasters that he showed an “exceptional” instinct.
Halsema personally thanked the British man in his official residence, where he received a prize for bravery, reported the Dutch TELEGRAAF newspaper.
Explaining that he wanted to remain anonymous, she said that the man had no desire to become “famous” and that his main concern had been for the victims of the attack.
“He is a very modest British man,” she told the local AT5 broadcaster.
“This man made a decision in a fraction of a second, which is really exceptional and for which there should be a lot of appreciation.”
A police spokesperson said that the “heroic” Briton had arrested a citizen, holding the suspect until the police could arrest him.
She told the BBC: “We found her very heroic and brave what he did.
“It is a fraction of a second that people enter into action or not – it is really courageous if people assume responsibilities but that you also want to take care of your own security, because you never know what the circumstances are.”
The police were called just before 3:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. GMT) and found five injured in various places in Sint and around Sint Nicolaassraat in the center of the city, police announced.
The suspect, a 30 -year -old Ukraine man, was arrested and taken to hospital with a leg injury.
The victims were a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man, both from the United States, a 26-year-old Pole, a 73-year-old woman from Belgium and a 19-year-old Dutch woman.
The police said that the reason behind the attack is under investigation, but they are considering the possibility that the suspect could have chosen victims at random.
