The Dutch police have arrested a man (37) who allegedly planned an attack on a vaccination site in Den Helder, a town in the north of the country, with a bomb made of fireworks.
He is suspected of "a crime with terrorist intent," according to a statement by the Dutch public prosector's office, which also added that the man was stopped before he could carry out his plan.
According to the police, he wanted to cause an explosion at the former town hall of Den Helder, where people can now go for a coronavirus jab. The police already arrested him on 18 March, but the news is only now coming out, reports RTL Nieuws.
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"He wanted to instil serious fear in the population and disrupt the country's economic and social structures," the public prosecutor's office stated, with a spokesperson adding that the vaccination programme is a "crucial government process" that the man wanted to "sabotage" in an "extremely violent way."
The man was brought before the examining magistrate and the judge's chamber of the District Court in Alkmaar in the North Holland province, which decided that he will be detained for the next three months.
The investigation into possible other suspects is still ongoing.
This is not the first time a coronavirus vaccination or test site is targeted in the Netherlands, as an explosive went off at a testing site in Bovenkarpsel in early March, and a "test lane" in Urk was set on fire during riots.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
