The Hague stabbing had us fearing a copycat terrorist. But we had to keep cool until we knew all the facts

We have a duty to report responsibly so as not to stoke public fear unnecessarily

Police on high alert after the stabbing in the Netherlands city over the weekend (Reuters)

For the team running the news desk, learning that there had been a stabbing in the Netherlands just a few hours after the London Bridge terror attacks immediately raised fears that there had been a copycat incident.

At around 8pm on Friday, it was understood that several people had been injured in an attack on “a busy shopping street” in The Hague. Pictures and videos showed frantic scenes, with dozens of people screaming and fleeing down the street on a busy Black Friday evening in Grote Marktstraat, one of The Hague’s most popular shopping areas.

Police cars and ambulances quickly arrived as crowds were held back behind a red-and-white cordon. We were trying to understand whether it was indeed a terrorist attack, but nothing was being confirmed. By this point we knew that London Bridge was being treated as terror related, but we were still unsure of total casualties or the name of the attacker.

An hour or so later, our wire services were reporting that children were among those injured in The Hague – though it was unclear whether they had been stabbed or injured in the aftermath as crowds fled the scene. The assailant was still on the run.

The Independent immediately broke the news and set up a live blog to keep our audience up to date with the latest developments. But despite some reports on local media, we were careful not to attribute any motives before getting official confirmation.

The festive period puts news organisations on high alert. Terrorists have used Christmas events to try and maximise casualties, as in December 2016, when a truck was deliberately driven into shoppers at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring 56. The perpetrator was given instructions by Isis.

In Melbourne the same year, three men inspired by the jihadist group aimed to use machetes and explosives to target people in busy shopping streets – but their plot was foiled. And just last year, two American tourists were injured in a stabbing attack in Amsterdam, which prosecutors said had a “terrorist motive”.

Over the weekend Dutch police arrested a 35-year-old man. But, unlike with London Bridge, there were “no indications” that the Hague stabbing had been terror related. As editors these sorts of attack have to be reported responsibly so as not to stoke public fear unnecessarily, or further encourage copycat attacks – especially in the run up to Christmas.

Yours,

Gemma Fox

Deputy international editor