Schiphol airport: Man with a knife shot by police

Dutch officials say the suspect is from the Hague and the incident is not terror related

A view inside Schiphol airport after a man wielding a knife was shot by military police, in the Netherlands. Photograph: Evert Elzinga/EPA
A view inside Schiphol airport after a man wielding a knife was shot by military police, in the Netherlands. Photograph: Evert Elzinga/EPA

A Dutch man wielding a knife was shot by military police at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on Friday, prompting authorities to clear parts of the building.

The Marechaussee police service said the situation is now safe, and the suspect had been detained and removed from the scene.

There were no reports of other injuries. Military police said the events were not being treated as a terror incident.

“The man threatened with a knife and the military police shot him,” spokesman Stan Verberkt said.

READ MORE

“He was injured and has been taken into custody.”

No details of his condition were released.

The immediate area around the incident was closed to the public, but the airport was functioning normally, the spokesman said.

“The suspect in the incident is a 29-year-old man from The Hague,” police said in a tweet. “The man is known to the police in connection with previous violent incidents.”

The man had made threats with a knife and was shot at the central plaza of the airport, an area with shops and restaurants.

The plaza was evacuated but not the parts of the airport behind the check-in area and security checks, airport spokeswoman Roos van der Ven said.

Schiphol, just outside Amsterdam, is one of Europe’s busiest airports.

– Reuters and PA