Fmr. pro footballer shot in Amsterdam says brother-in-law was targeted

Former football player Yassine Abdellaoui says that the bullets that hit him in Amsterdam last week was meant for his brother-in-law. "They must have thought I was him", he said to EenVandaag from his hospital bed.

Abdellaoui was hit in his leg by multiple bullets in the Amsterdam neighborhood IJburg on February 6th. He is still in hospital. One of the blood vessels in his leg was irreparably damaged, according to the program.

According to the former football player, he must have been mistaken for his sister's husband when he went to take back a car. "I came to bring back the key. There they tried to shoot me, to finish me off. It immediately came into my head: this is for my brother-in-law. There are people who want to get rid of him. Bizarre, difficult to understand", he said to EenVandaag. Abdellaoui said that he does not know why his brother-in-law was targeted. "I had no signals that he was involved in serious crime."

The police do not rule out that the gunmen indeed targeted someone else, but say it is too early to draw any conclusions. 

EXCLUSIEF. Oud-voetballer Yassine Abdellaoui over schietpartij: “Het gebeurde voor ‘t huis van m’n zus. De kogels waren bedoeld voor mijn zwager. Ik ben blij dat ik nog leef...” Aldus een gewonde Yassine Abdellaoui in uniek interview vanuit het ziekenhuis met ⁦@EenVandaag⁩ pic.twitter.com/qz7bfGXC34

— Bram de Waal (@bramdewaal) February 14, 2019