A man has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing three teenagers who tried to break up a fight in a park in Breda.

One of the victims needed emergency surgery in Rotterdam after he was stabbed in the back in the attack on Sunday evening, Omroep Brabant reported.

The other two were a girl who was stabbed in the leg and another boy who received a neck wound. Both were treated in hospital in Breda. All the victims were aged 15 or 16.

Police arrested the suspect in the early hours of Monday morning at his home, where they found a knife and clothing that matched the description of the attacker.

The incident happened in the town’s Westerpark at around 9pm. The three teenagers were in a group who tried to intervene in a scuffle, at which point the suspect is said to have grabbed a knife and begun lashing out at random.

Police took witness statements from several other youths who were on the scene at the time.

#BredA #steekpartij Veel jongeren die bij het incident in de buurt stonden zijn door de politie meegenomen naar het bureau om getuigenverklaringen af te nemen. Ook slachtofferhulp ingezet. pic.twitter.com/Lo5p6fNtOG — Joey van Maanen (@JoeyvanMaanen) September 15, 2019

The mayor of Breda, Paul Depla, said in a tweet he was ‘shocked’ by the events.

Geschrokken en geschokt. Wat een vreselijk bericht dat drie jongeren in het Westerpark worden neergestoken. Net met politie gebeld. Ze zetten alles op alles om dader op te sporen en op te pakken. https://t.co/Gbk9DmGHjI — Paul Depla (@PaulDepla) September 15, 2019