According to CNN, a concert scheduled for Wednesday in the Dutch city of Rotterdam was cancelled due to what is being called a terror threat. It appears that the band scheduled to perform at the show, which was to be held at Rotterdam Maassilo was a relatively non-political Los Angeles-based surf rock band with a name that could be considered problematic by certain segments of the population: the Allah-Las. With the rise of jihadist-affiliated terror attacks in Europe and the United Kingdom, it is unsurprising that area officials took the threat, which happened on early Wednesday, very seriously.
After the show was cancelled and police cordoned off the area, a van driven by a Spaniard with Spanish plates containing “about five” gas cylinders was stopped near the venue around 9:30 local time. Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said the van was within the closed-off area. The venue did not need to be evacuated because the threat was received before attendees arrived for the show. Police have made it clear it is still too early to determine whether the van that was stopped is related to the threat officials received. Rotterdam Police press officer stated it could have simply been “someone who was going to a camping site, but with the threat that we have, and what we found in the van, we decided to investigate.”
The driver of the van has been taken into police custody and will be questioned about the gas cylinders. The van was also inspected by bomb experts.
The venue posted this message of Facebook today:
The statement loosely translates to: In connection with a terrorist threat, the Allah-Las concert has been stopped by the police tonight!
UPDATE (8/24): According to Spin, police have arrested a 22 year old man in connection with the terror threat in Rotterdam. The man was arrested in the Brabant area, which is located southeast of the Dutch city.
This was not the man who was driving the van filled with gas cylinders who was detained inside the cordoned area. That man, it turns out, was simply drunk and in the wrong place at the wrong time. Searches of his van and home returned no links to terrorism.
According to the Associated Press, Polish officials have decided to post police officers at the Allah-Las’ show tonight in Warsaw as a precaution.
Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna
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