A teacher was stabbed and seriously injured at a musical performance by elementary school pupils on Wednesday night, Dutch police said in a statement Thursday.
The 53-year-old teacher was stabbed as he tried to intervene in an argument between three men at a cultural centre in Alblasserdam, police said, adding that several people witnessed the stabbing and were offered counselling in the immediate aftermath.
Children at elementary schools in the Netherlands traditionally put on shows for their parents in the last week before the summer holidays.
Three suspects have since been arrested, police said. A 44-year-old man was detained close to the cultural centre shortly after the stabbing.
Two other men later went to a hospital in nearby Rotterdam. One of them, who had undisclosed injuries, was arrested there.
The other man fled but was quickly arrested, police said. The reason for the argument that preceded the stabbing was not immediately apparent.
The alleged role of the three men in the stabbing is being investigated, and their identities have not been disclosed, in line with Dutch privacy guidelines.
Police also impounded two vehicles as part of their investigation.
Alblasserdam is a small town famous for the World Heritage-listed Kinderdijk windmills located on its outskirts.
