Zaandam shooting victim a known underworld figure

The man who was violently assassinated in Zaandam earlier this afternoon, has been identified as Amsterdam career criminal Lucas Boom, Het Parool reports.

Boom was one of the last confidants of Willem Holleeder. Last year he was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for cocaine trafficking in Antwerp. He was also linked to the attempted assassination of Etou's Belserang, the president of the Amsterdam branch of Satudarah, a few years ago.

Boom was attacked by at least one man with an automatic firearm on J. Kruijverstraat, Zaandam earlier this afternoon. One photo shows a man in dark clothes shooting at Boom, who was already lying on the ground.

The shooting happened near two schools. The police believe it likely that students witnessed the deadly attack. The police have posted men at the Coentunnel and at the A4 as they consider this likely flight routes. They hope to intercept the gunmen.