Dutch police say they are looking for a suspect after three youth were injured in a knife attack in The Hague on Friday.
The attack took place on a shopping street called Grote Marktstraat, located at the centre of The Hague, amid heavy Black Friday crowds.
Pictures and videos on social media, which have not been verified by Global News, show crowds of shoppers screaming and running from the area as several police trucks arrive.
Police from the city said in a statement that emergency services are on scene. Authorities sealed off a wide perimeter around the area of the incident, which kept onlookers at bay.
Police initially said they are looking for a man between the ages of 45 to 50 wearing a grey track suit, and described him using a Dutch term often applied to people of North African descent. However, police spokeswoman Marije Kuiper said that this description is wrong, and police do not yet have a description of the suspect.
“We are at this moment searching for a suspect, no one has been arrested yet,” Kuiper told reporters at 10 p.m.
Police said in a statement that all the victims are minors and have since been released from hospital.
Police say they do not know the motive of the attack yet and “all scenarios are still open.”
Dutch national broadcaster NOS though says that the knife attack does not appear to be a terrorist attack, citing “varied sources.”
“At this moment there is no indication of a terrorist motive,” NOS said.
Acting mayor of The Hague, Boudewijn Revis, said he was horrified by the stabbing Friday night but did not elaborate.
Global Affairs Canada said it is closely monitoring the situation in The Hague, but there are no reports of any Canadian citizens being affected.
The incident took place hours after a stabbing attack in London, U.K., that has been declared a “terrorist incident,” but no link between the two attacks has been established.
A similar stabbing took place in Amsterdam a year ago when two Americans were wounded. Prosecutors say the attack had a “terrorist motive.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
— With files from Reuters, The Associated Press