Local police arrested seven people – six men and one woman – suspected of preparing the alleged attack. One of those arrested is a relative of one of the attackers who died in the 2004 Madrid bombings.
Police received a phone call on Wednesday night from someone “warning that three men were planning to carry out an attack with explosives in Amsterdam.”
“It wasn’t a regular bomb warning,” said Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen. “But a warning of a planned action aimed at creating casualties in shops.”
Police say the call came from an unregistered cell phone in Brussels, Belgium, and that the caller mentioned the name of one of the suspects and locations for police to search.
Since the caller specifically mentioned an Ikea store, police closed several of the chain’s Amsterdam outlets this morning. Police also shutdown a movie theatre and, of course, The Killers’s appearance.
The Killers were to play at the Heineken Music Hall tonight. At this time it is not known if the band will be able to reschedule the gig.