Alerted by a detailed tip from Spanish colleagues, Dutch police arrested a man Thursday and questioned him on suspicion of preparing an attack on a concert in Rotterdam by an American rock band.
But the Dutch justice minister suggested later in the day that the suspect may only have sent a threatening message.
The 22-year-old man was being interrogated to determine exactly what his role was in the threat, police spokeswoman Svetlana Westermeijer said. No charges had been filed yet.
Alerted by a detailed tip from Spanish colleagues, Dutch police arrested a man Thursday and questioned him on suspicion of preparing an attack on a concert in Rotterdam by an American rock band.
But the Dutch justice minister suggested later in the day that the suspect may only have sent a threatening message.
The 22-year-old man was being interrogated to determine exactly what his role was in the threat, police spokeswoman Svetlana Westermeijer said. No charges had been filed yet.
In an interview with The Guardian last year, band members said they chose the word Allah — Arabic for God — because they were seeking a “holy-sounding” name and didn’t realize it might cause offense.
Police in Warsaw, Poland, beefed up security for the band’s performance there Thursday night, checking a few hundred fans as they arrived at the NIEBO (Heaven) club.
Joanna Konieczna, 32, was excited that she would be hearing her favorite band live.
“The events in Rotterdam did not scare me, I feel very safe in Poland,” she told The Associated Press.
Spain, already on high alert following last week’s deadly attacks in and near Barcelona that killed 15 people and injured more than 120 others, played a key role in the events of Wednesday and Thursday.
A Spanish counterterrorism official said Spain’s Civil Guard received “an alert indicating the possibility of an attack in a concert that was going to take place in Rotterdam.” The Civil Guard shared the information with Dutch authorities, said the official, who spoke anonymously.
