The two men wanted for the stabbing in Helpman, in which a police officer was seriously injured, have been arrested in northern France
The men have been arrested by the French police, the Dutch police have confirmed, with the two suspects being a 20-year-old man from the municipality of Oldambt and a 32-year-old American without a permanent residence in the Netherlands.
Both men are still in France. An extradition procedure has now begun, though it is not known how long that will take.
Stabbing in Van Houtenlaan
The men are suspected of involvement in a serious incident on Wednesday evening in the Van Houtenlaan in the Helpman district of Groningen. During a curfew check, a police officer was suddenly stabbed in the face. The officer has sustained heavy injuries, but his life is no longer in danger and he is conscious. Another officer was also injured.
The police soon distributed video images, a description and information about the man’s means of transport. About fifty tips were then received, so that the police could quickly find out the identities of the men. The owner of a houseboat recognized the duo, who had been renting a space with him through Airbnb for a few weeks. The police conducted an extensive investigation of the houseboat on Friday.
Fugitive Active Search Team (FAST)
However, both men had already fled the Netherlands in a black car. The police continued the search with a Large-scale Investigation Team (TGO). Partly thanks to the collaboration between the Fugitive Active Search Team (FAST) of the Netherlands, Belgium and France, the two suspects could be arrested in Northern France on Saturday morning.
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