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Los Angeles band's Rotterdam show canceled due to 'terror threat'

Los Angeles band's Rotterdam show canceled due to 'terror threat'
Posted at 1:31 PM, Aug 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-23 16:35:33-04

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A concert in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam by American rock group Allah-Las was canceled Wednesday night because of a "terror threat," police said in a statement.

"Police took this information seriously enough that after discussion with organizers it was decided to cancel the event," the Rotterdam police statement said.

An investigation was underway, but no arrests have been made, police said.

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Concert organizer Rotown said earlier on Twitter that the concert venue, a former grain silo called Maassilo, was being evacuated because of the unspecified threat and concertgoers would get their money back.

The show hadn't yet started when the decision to cancel it was made.

Dutch television showed officers in body armor outside Maassilo and what appeared to be members of the band leaving the venue in a white van with a police escort. The band did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

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Allah-Las is a four-piece band from Los Angeles.

In an interview with British newspaper The Guardian last year, band members said they chose the word All, Arabic for God, because they were seeking a "holy sounding" name and did not realize it might cause offense.

"We get emails from Muslims, here in the U.S. and around the world, saying they're offended, but that absolutely wasn't our intention," lead singer Miles Michaud told the newspaper. "We email back and explain why we chose the name, and mainly they understand."

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