Bullets everywhere, two cops shot at in cocaine battle: Amsterdam trial

Two suspected shooters in the Amsterdam Staatsliedenbuurt assassination case, Adil "Kinker" A. and Anouar "Popeye" B., stood before the court on Monday. Two motorcycle police officers under fire that night were terrified, they told the court, with a reconsruction of the night suggesting Russian-made armour piercing bullets were used, according to NOS. Bullets were found all over the neighborhood after offenders fled the scene.  Youssef Lkhorf (28) and Said el Yazidi (21) died in the outburst of violence in 2012. One was struck sixteen times and the other five. It is suspected that the actual target of the shooters was known criminal Benaouf A., who managed to escape by jumping in between two houseboats. He was later arrested, charged and convicted for an earlier assassination allegedly tied to a missing cocaine shipment which may have sparked the attempt on his life. One of the officers told how he stood waiting and saw the offenders in an Audi RS4 approaching with flashing lights on Haarlemmerweg, AD reported. As the car drew to within a four meter distance from him, a gun barrel became visible firing shots towards the policeman. He dove towards the ground, pulling his motorcycle down with him, the officer testified. He managed to escape injury even as his motorcycle was hit by a bullet. His colleague saw him fall over, thinking he was hit. In a flash, he then saw the flare of the offenders' Kalashnikovs coming towards him but got away unscathed. Dozens of shots were fired in all directions according to the prosecutors retelling of the night's events, BNR reported. Bullets flew towards area apartments, hitting a children's nursery and a kitchen. A bullet was pulled from the refrigerator of one resident. Another shouted to the gunmen that they had to stop shooting up the neighborhood, the broadcaster said. Benaouf A. identified one of the suspects to police after the shooting, the prosecutor said. Anouar B. countered this by saying, "Benaouf is just looking for a scapegoat," NOS said.