Local residents shooting: "Happened in front of his wife's nose"
By MARTIJN SCHOOLENBERG
Updated 21 min ago
1 hour ago in INTER
AMSTERDAM - Local residents of Hugo de Grootplein in Amsterdam-West were deeply touched by the shooting this afternoon. One person died in the shooting. "It happened right in front of his wife's nose." Another victim was seriously injured.
Around a quarter to four in the afternoon, loud shots suddenly sounded in the street, says the manager of the square fish shop. "I immediately ran outside and heard screams."
According to the manager of the adjacent tapas bar, a man with a gun had just entered the pizzeria La Piccola Baracca. "And there he shot the owner. A cook of ours first thought that someone in the pizzeria had dropped something. But then it turned out to be shots. So close, horrible. I saw one of his co-workers running outside screaming, he too was hit. â€The police cannot yet confirm whether the owner, according to acquaintances, is a man with an Eastern European background.
Scream
Another nearby man indicates that she has also come to grips with the screaming. "I just wanted to get coffee in a shop here, when suddenly I heard people screaming. When I turned around, I just saw the man's legs lying on the floor. "
According to the manager of the fish shop, the owner was hit in the throat. "Then his wife started to cry very hard. It happened right in front of her. Terrible. And I saw a guy, possibly one of his waiters, sitting on a chair with a tea towel on his stomach. He got there. "
The entrance to the pizzeria, florist and tapas bar was closed off with a red and white ribbon on Wednesday afternoon. Three ambulance cars and five police cars are in the middle of Hugo de Grootplein. Dozens of local residents are watching behind the ribbons.
'Quite howling' for a friendly man
One of them, a middle-aged woman, is deeply affected by the drama. "So horrible. When I heard it, I had to cry. I have eaten once with the owner. He really was a very friendly, hard-working man. Sure, you never know what someone is doing in the background, but I just can't imagine. â€
The size is full for her. "This is the umpteenth incident in the last few months. A grenade has also exploded in my street. I was born and raised here, but it has just become criminal here. "
Sixteen killed by violence
The police have since been able to arrest a suspect on the Admiraal de Ruijterweg. The police do take into account that there is still a suspect on the run.
This year, 16 people have already been killed in violence in Amsterdam. That is one more than in the whole of 2018.
