A nine-year-old boy caught shoplifting at a branch of the Action discount store in Eindhoven waved a knife at shop workers when taken to the office to be questioned, city police said on Tuesday.

The boy was caught when the shop security system went off as he attempted to leave the store. The stolen goods were removed from his pockets but the child managed to grab a knife lying around in the office and threatened staff. Once that was taken off him, he grabbed a pen and did the same thing.

The police were called and discovered the child, who is Belgian, was alone in the shop. His parents were in another shop on the other side of the road and came over when they noticed the commotion.

It is unclear if they were involved in the shoplifting and they are being investigated, the police statement said.

The boy was taken to the police station, even though youngsters under the age of 12 cannot be charged in the Netherlands.

The Dutch police got in touch with their Belgian counterparts and discovered the child already had been picked up for stealing several times and caused problems at school. Social services are already involved with the family.

The police statement ends by noting that the child was searched on arrival at the police station and was found to be carrying no weapons but a baby’s dummy and a little book. ‘He is, after all, still a child,’ the statement ended.