Eastern European man murdered at Amsterdam gay cruising spot

An East European man was robbed and stabbed in Amsterdam's Oosterpark on Friday night. He died of his injuries in hospital later that night. The police are looking for four suspects seen near the Tropenmuseum that night and are calling on witnesses to come forward, the Volkskrant reports.

The stabbing happened around 9:00 p.m. in a spot in the park that is known as a meeting place for gay men. But according to the police, there is no indication that this was a hate crime against homosexuals. "At the moment we assume that he is the victim of a mugging that got out of hand", a police spokesperson said, according to the newspaper.

The victim was stabbed several times and robbed of his possessions. According to the police, he was unconscious when he was found. This means that the police had a hard time identifying the victim. After spreading surveillance photos of the man shopping at a store on Kalverstraat earlier on Friday, the victim was finally identified as a 33-year-old East European man who lived in Rotterdam.

According to the police, men visiting gay meeting spots are often robbed. Victims often don't report the crimes out of fear that where it happened may come out to their friends and family.

The police call on witnesses to come forward. Information can be given to the police anonymously. Witnesses can also report to the police's LGBT team if they prefer.