A community in the Netherlands is mourning the loss of a teen girl stabbed to death by an unknown man. As she rode her bike through the streets late at night, the man appeared to be following her. She quickly called police when she realized what was happening, but unfortunately, they didn’t arrive fast enough. The killing is sparking an important conversation about women’s safety and has led to nationwide protests.
A 17-year-old girl named Lisa was riding an electric bicycle home in the early hours of August 20, 2025,The Brussels Times reported. As she was riding through the district of Weesperzijde, she called police around 3:30 a.m. She told them she was being followed and feared she was about to be attacked.
When police arrived around 4:15 a.m., she was already dead. Her body was found on the side of the road, and it appeared she had been stabbed several times.
On August 22, police announced they had made an arrest in connection with the stabbing. The suspect, a 22-year-old asylum seeker, is being held in custody, per The Times. He had been arrested for a separate incident — a rape that occured on August 15, not far from where the teen girl was stabbed. Earlier in August, he allegedly assaulted a third woman.
“Our hearts are broken. We hope we can mourn Lisa’s loss together in peace and privacy,” the family expressed in a statement shared by the Daily Mail. “We are immensely supported by the love and sympathy from family, friends, and fellow villagers, and we want to express our gratitude for this.”
Femke Halsema, Amsterdam’s mayor, called the murder “appalling and unforgivable,” The European Conservative reported. She vowed to work harder to put protections in place for women. “What should be self-evident—the safety of women and girls—is not self-evident. This is a disgrace to our society,” she added.
The stabbing has prompted women to speak out, including Dutch actress Nienke ‘s Gravemade, who shared a poem on Instagram. “I claim the night — I claim the streets. I demand that the fear be lifted,” she wrote.
“The red bag. I keep thinking about that red bag. How it dangled from her handlebars as she drove through the night,” she added. “A night that belonged to her too, because we all have 24 hours in our day. 24 hours that we are free to use how and where we choose.”
The suspect faces preliminary charges of murder and rape.
