Dutch police said a man injured five people and two people in the stabbing attack in the heart of Amsterdam on Thursday.

Police earlier caused the damage to four people, but it appeared to be the chaos caused by the suspect himself being hurt.

“Update: There were no four people in the stabbing incident this afternoon, but no injuries. In addition, the suspect himself was injured,” Amsterdam police said in a statement from X (formerly Twitter).

Police refused to provide any indication of the motive for stabbing near the central square of the dam, saying their investigation was underway.

They said they “consider the possibility that the suspect might have random targeted victims, but the exact motivation remains unknown”.

“The suspect was overwhelmed with the help of a citizen. He was taken to the hospital due to a leg injury,” authorities said.

A police spokesman told reporters that the suspect was receiving medical services and would be questioned at a later stage.

Authorities have sent a trauma helicopter to the square to participate in the injured person. Police said the two are currently receiving treatment in the hospital.

A police spokesperson was unable to provide information about the condition of the injury.

Authorities say the victims were a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man from the United States, a 26-year-old man from Poland, a 73-year-old Belgian woman, and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam.

An AFP reporter at the scene said that the casualties had been evacuated from the site, but a large number of police officers were still present and ambulances were also present.

Police call for images

Early images from local news agency ANP showed a stretcher man loaded into the back of an ambulance.

Public broadcaster NOS shows police pushing someone onto a stretcher when they push someone into an IV.

According to local media reports, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema held a meeting at the city hall when the attack occurred.

“We hope to get a clear understanding of the context of this horrible stabbing incident soon. Our hearts are sent to the victims, their families and loved ones,” Halsema said in a statement.

Police urge anyone with images of the incident to upload them as evidence. They also called on people to avoid the area and let them investigate.

Local media Het Parool cited a witness, Marco Schoenmaeckers, who said he saw one of the victims.

“I saw at least 10 cm (nearly four inches) of the knife sticking out from the girl’s back,” Het Parool quoted Schoenmaeckers.