Video released in hunt for Amsterdam cafe shooter
The police has released video footage of the shooting incident in cafe De Zon on Pretoriusstraat in Amsterdam East on October 10th. At about 23:20 two armed men randomly fired into the cafe from the doorway. Two customers were injured - a 32 year old man became paralyzed on one side and a 48 year old man was injured in his leg.
The police investigation has found no link between the two victims and serious crime or the underworld. The detectives investigating this case assume that the shooters were aiming at one or two other customers in the pub and that the shooting is connected to the gang war that has been going on in Amsterdam for the last 2.5 years. The shooting incident was filmed by security cameras in the cafe, but the culprits could not be seen clearly.
The perpetrators fled in a black BMW 3 series. On the A10 they fired on two motorcycle police officers who gave chase. For their own safety and that of the traffic, the officers had to give up the chase. The BMW was found burning in Nieuwersluishof in Amsterdam South East at about 23:30.
A flash of light can be seen on surveillance footage when the BMW was set alight. Then a man can be seen picking something up and disappearing from view. The police assumes that he is one of the perpetrators.
Surveillance footage shows a white or gray Mercedes C class coupe driving behind the BMW in Pretoriusstraat at 23:15, just before the shooting. The police would like to speak with the occupants of this vehicle as they may have witnessed something important.
At 23:10, ten minutes before the shooting, a dark skinned man with crew cut hair bought cigarettes from the cafe. The police would like to speak to this man as he may have seen something in the area that could be relevant to the investigation.
