The man who waved an axe from a balcony on a housing block in Schiedam on Wednesday probably had a psychotic attack, and there are no signs he had a religious or terrorist motive, local mayor Cor Lamers told reporters on Thursday.

The police were called after passersby spotted the man, who was shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’, on the balcony on Wednesday afternoon. The man, a 26-year-old Syrian national, attacked a police dog and several officers with knives when they entered the property. He was shot twice by the arrest team and was taken to hospital.

The dog later died of its injuries.

Lamers said the man, who has lived with his father since 2015, was known to social services but was not thought to have had major psychological problems. Officials will now investigate what contact he had had with specialists in the recent past.

‘He is a disturbed man with psychiatric problems,’ Lamers said. ‘I don’t want to make light of what happened, because people in that position can be dangerous too.’

The man is currently being treated in hospital and will be taken into custody on his release.