Three Stabbed Among Shoppers in The Hague

Three people were wounded in stabbings in The Hague’s main shopping street Friday night, and police were searching for at least one suspect, Netherlands authorities said. Police spokeswoman Marije Kuiper told the AP in a telephone interview that it was still too early to say whether a terror motive was behind the attack. The area was busy at the time as shoppers looked for Black Friday holiday deals. Kuiper said it was unclear whether any of the injuries were life-threatening. The Hague police said in a statement that they were looking for a man, about 45 to 50 years old, in a gray jogging suit.

The stabbing happened in the heart of The Hague shopping district where supermarket chains and luxury shops were lit up with Christmas decorations. Police sealed off a wide perimeter behind which onlookers were kept at bay. There was no hint of panic among the public after the stabbing. The Netherlands was shocked by a similar stabbing in Amsterdam a year ago, when two Americans were injured in a knife attack that prosecutors said had a "terrorist motive." Earlier in the day, a man wearing a fake explosive vest stabbed several people, killing two, in London. (Attacker on London Bridge wore a fake explosive vest, authorities said.)