Home > About Amsterdam > Dozens injured in panicked stampede during Remembrance Day commemorations

Dozens injured in panicked stampede during Remembrance Day commemorations

DutchAmsterdam.nl, May 5, 2010 — Dozens of people were injured last night when panic broke out in a crowd gathered at Amsterdam’s Dam Square for the national Remembrance Day commemorations.

Police arrested the man who caused the panic.

This is an archived news article

The man, described by witnesses as ‘confused,’ had at first been mumbling incoherently. One minute into the 2 minutes of silence observed as part of the ceremony he suddenly gave a 5-seconds-long, loud scream.

The scream starts at the 3 seconds mark. At 10 seconds a security fence falls as people started to run away in panic. Many people mistook the sound of the falling fence for a gunshot.

This caused bystanders to panic and try to push through the crowd, away from the man.

In the process a security fence fell over with a sharp, shot-like sound, creating panic further away in the 20.000-strong crowd.

In the confusion one man inadvertently dropped his briefcase. Someone yelled, “Bomb! Bomb! Escape!” adding to the panic.

Police say 63 people were injured. Injuries included scrapes, bruises and some broken bones.

Last year a man purposely drove his car into the crowd watching the royal motorcade at the Queen’s Day celebrations in Apeldoorn. Police described that incident as an attempted attack on the Royal Family.

During the incident at Dam Square members of the Royal Family were quickly ushered away. They soon returned and the ceremony, which includes the laying of wreaths at the National Monument, continued.

Police superintendent Bernard Welten told the press the arrested man was well known to the police, having been previously arrested for theft, assault, drug trafficking and drug possession.

The man’s identity has not been released, but police reports he is being held in extended custody because in addition to disturbance of public order is also suspected of causing grievous bodily harm by negligence.

The suspect has made no statement. Nothing is known about the motives for his behavior.

Anton and Janet Hein
Publisher at DutchAmsterdam | Website |  + posts

Anton and Janet Hein live and work in Amsterdam. We are the publishers of DutchAmsterdam.

Anton was born on a houseboat in the center of Amsterdam, right across from the iconic Westertoren and what later became the Anne Frank House museum. Having lived in nearly every district since then, he knows the city like his own back pocket.

Janet was born in England and raised in Ireland before moving to Amsterdam 42 years ago. Even to date she brings an expat’s perspective to the DutchAmsterdam website.

Category: About Amsterdam | Related to: ,

Last updated Friday, December 13, 2019 CET (Central European Time)

Hello! Our original content is of course protected by © Copyright DutchAmsterdam .nl
Do not republish or repost. Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape    

Why stand in line during your Amsterdam vacation?

Beat the crowds by booking Amsterdam Tours, Skip the Line Tickets, Museums, Excursions and Activities online. GetYourGuide is our trusted ticket partner.

Leave a Reply

Transparency:
The DutchAmsterdam website includes affiliate links. That means we get a small commission — at no additional cost to you — for each purchase you make. Your support helps us provide this site free of charge. Naturally, as our Editorial Policy states, our content is never influenced by our advertisers or affiliates.