Dutch police shoot dead armed teenager, 15, after fatbike theft
Dutch police have shot dead a 15-year-old boy following the theft of a fatbike in the Zuid-Holland town of Capelle aan den IJssel, east of Rotterdam.
The shooting took place on Sunday afternoon at a branch of fast food snack bar McDonald’s and was witnessed by dozens of people, including many young children.
The police arrived at the scene of the reported theft at around 4:15 on Sunday afternoon, and eyewitnesses had told the police that the victim had threatened to use a gun.
He had gone by the time the police arrived but was later spotted by police in the neighbourhood of the McDonald’s branch, where he was warned to stop. Instead, he ran off, at which point the police shot at him.
Camera footage shows how a police officer fired at least four shots at a distance of just a few metres from the youngster on the fast food restaurant terrace, RTL Nieuws reported.
The national police force has now started an investigation into the shooting, which is standard procedure when people are injured or killed by the police.
RTL said the youngster did have a gun, which is now being looked at by forensic experts. The police have not yet issued a formal statement.
A police spokesman told broadcaster NOS one other youngster who was involved in the theft of the bike was arrested at the scene of the shooting. A second teenager involved in the robbery is said to have turned himself into the police.
A McDonald’s worker who was having a break next to the emergency exit told RTL that she saw everything happen. “Suddenly lads appeared on a fatbike,” she said. “They put it next to the door and then one of them pulled out a pistol. He was half a metre away and I thought ‘shit, I need to go in’.”
Capelle aan den IJssel mayor Joost Manasuma called for calm. He said many young children had witnessed the shooting and “that makes the impact even worse”.
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.
We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.
Make a donation