Suspect in Rotterdam stabbing ‘had previously attacked his mother’

The man accused of stabbing a man to death on the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam seriously injured his mother in a knife attack two years ago, Dutch media report.

22-year-old Ayoub M. is due to appear in court on Monday for a detention hearing after he was arrested at the scene of the incident last Thursday evening.

The prosecution believes his motive was terrorist because he was heard shouting “Allah Akhbar” several times while brandishing the knife. However, other explanations cannot be ruled out.

AD.nl said M. attacked his mother two and a half years ago in Nijkerk in the province of Gelderland, causing serious injuries to her hands and neck.

M., from Amersfoort, also vandalised a police station and attacked a civilian law enforcement officer in the days before the stabbing attack on his mother. He was reportedly sentenced to medical treatment by a court, but details are unknown.

It also emerged that his 32-year-old victim on Thursday was a German named Philipp Winter, who had moved to Rotterdam six months earlier to pursue his dream job. He was ice skating on the bridge when he was attacked by M.

Winter had posted a message on LinkedIn reading “Goodbye Hamburg, hello Rotterdam!” after being recruited by landscaping firm Defacto Urbanism, saying he was looking forward to “new people, new ideas, new projects”.

A 33-year-old Swiss man who was also injured in the attack was released from hospital on Sunday after treatment for his injuries.