Three women stabbed on the same Utrecht street within a week

Three twenty-something women have all been stabbed within the same week and around the same bridge in Utrecht. Police are now wondering if all three crimes could be connected.

Last night at around midnight, a 20-year-old woman was walking over the bridge called the Balijebrug in the Rivierenwijk, Utrecht, when she was stabbed.

The victim has since been hospitalised with minor injuries, RTV Utrecht reports.

In the meantime, the police are using a sniffer dog, as well as other tactics, around the bridge to find out more about the crime.

Two other attacks

Sadly, this stabbing is not a stand-alone case; last Wednesday, another young woman, aged 23, was stabbed with a “sharp object”.

This happened right before her handbag was snatched up by the perpetrator. Again, the woman suffered minor injuries from the attack.

Horrifyingly enough, a third incident took place along the same bridge at around 2 AM on Saturday morning when another 23-year-old woman was stabbed with an unspecified sharp object.

Translation: “We are looking for witnesses or people with more information about a stabbing incident #Balijelaan #Utrecht that took place last night – September 30 at 2:25 AM. For more information, click on the link.”

The Dutch-speaking man responsible for this incident is reportedly around 25 years old, with dark hair, and about 1.70-1.75 meters tall, RTV Utrecht reports.

Separate incidents or connected crimes?

The similarity across all three attacks feels too uncanny to ignore — especially given the proximity and timing — so police are considering the possibility of a connection between them.

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Even so, they are also investigating the events as separate crimes and want to “keep all other scenarios open”, according to their spokesperson, NOS reports.

What are your thoughts on these three stabbings? Let us know in the comments below.