Suspect held after three teens stabbed

Police do not know whether incident in The Hague was terror-related

Police in the Netherlands have said it is too early to say whether terrorism was the motive behind the stabbings on Friday of three teenagers on a busy shopping street in The Hague.

After an extensive manhunt, investigators arrested a 35-year-old man of no fixed abode on Saturday in connection with the incident and continue to question him.

All three victims, two girls each aged 15 and a boy aged 13, are expected to make full recoveries and have already been discharged from hospital.

The BBC reported on Sunday that the victims did not know each other.

The broadcaster said police were investigating "several scenarios" and that officers felt it was"too early to speculate" about whether the alleged knifeman was a terrorist.

Boudewijn Revis, the deputy mayor of The Hague, told de Volkskrant newspaper: "On a night when a lot of people do their shopping in one of our busiest shopping streets, something so terrible happens."

The attacker started his assault at around 7:45 pm local time outside a Hudson's Bay store in the city's main market square, which is called Grote Marktstraat. The area was crowded with shoppers seeking Black Friday bargains.

Police said on Twitter on Saturday: "Following the stabbing incident in Grote Marktstraat, a 35-year-old man has just been arrested in the center of The Hague. The man has no fixed place of residence. He will be transferred to a police station where he will be questioned."

Al Jazeera reported that the attack caused panic because it happened a few hours after a stabbing in the United Kingdom capital in which a knifeman killed two people and injured three others before police shot him dead. That incident has already been confirmed as terrorism.

Images on social media showed shoppers running from the scene of the stabbing in The Hague, which was lit by Christmas fairy lights.

One witness told broadcaster NOS: "I saw two girls screaming and running away. A man fled. He jumped very athletically over benches to get away. He looked like a cheetah. People were trying to get away but that didn't work. I was shocked."

Police forensic officers were seen examining a knife found at the scene while the search continued.

Britain's Daily Mail newspaper said the man who was arrested on Saturday was "homeless" and was picked up after police threw up a cordon around the central area in the aftermath of the stabbings and flooded the city center with officers who were supported by police helicopters.

Britain's Daily Star newspaper noted that the stabbings took place close to the Netherlands' Parliament building, which is also home to the law courts and many international organizations.