No "killing machines" in Nieuw-West

Reacting to the news of a conspicuous street assassination in his neighborhood, Amsterdam Nieuw-West President Achmed Baâdoud is working with the council there on initiatives to prevent kids from becoming "killing machines." Baâdoud spoke of the murder of Aytas Göraler in front of his two children early Sunday morning. He was shot multiple times on Slauerhoffstraat. Göraler was a founder of the club and indoor beach The Sand. The motive is unknown, there are no suspects in custody, and police are still actively asking witnesses to contact them with information about the crime. "This type of crime has a huge impact on society. It is dehumanizing that some people choose to kill someone under the eyes of others," he lamented. He was reportedly shocked by the murder. There were seven murders in his district in 2013, up from zero a year earlier. While Göraler was not able to explain the increase, he and the district council are working on projects to prevent kids from returning to a life of crime after a judge sentences them. Göraler said the district council had recently had discussion with Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan about violent crime in Nieuw-West. "Anyway, I want to ensure that no new killing machines grow up here," he said. "As a [community leader] there is not much I can do about [executions] in the criminal world," Baâdoud told newspaper Metro. "My job lies in educating youths. I want to show them they do not have to go down the wrong path, [but] they must go finish their schooling."

Foto vanaf de Slauerhoffstraat. Straat afgezet, veel politie aanwezig. Ook traumateam ingezet. http://t.co/wfD3YFbWhq pic.twitter.com/jCm5dAZifQ

— Amsterdam Nieuws (@020dichtbij) January 4, 2014

They have multiple projects in the district to get young people to be productive in the community after they have been convicted and sentenced to crimes, with some back-to-work programs maintaining a waiting list. His long-term concern is that Nieuw-West's image will be damaged by the criminal element there. "This has an impact on investors and potential new residents. This increases goes towards a sense of insecurity, while the numbers [are concerned with] it going better in the district."