Key witness' lawyer assassinated in Amsterdam

A man was shot and killed in Buitenveldert in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning. Het Parool and De Telegraaf identify the victim as Derk Wiersum, the lawyer that represented key witness Nabil B. A police officer confirmed this in an interview with AT5, adding that the 44-year-old lawyer lived on Imstenrade where the shooting happened. 

Dispatch services sent out an ambulance and a trauma team by helicopter towards the Buitenveldert neighborhood in Amsterdam Zuid at about 7:30 a.m. Police assistance was also requested at the scene on Imstenrade, followed by more emergency personnel. 

Emergency services tried to resuscitate the victim, but it was to no avail. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene, the Amsterdam police reported. 

The perpetrator fled on foot in the direction of Van Boshuizenstraat. The police are looking for a man between the ages of 16 and 20 years, dressed in black clothing with a hoodie.

“It’s really serious. It’s scary,” said one young neighbor. She remarked how safe the neighborhood is in an interview with AT5.

Wiersum is not the first person connected to Nabil B. to be assassinated. B.'s brother Reduan was killed at his Amsterdam business just a week after the Public Prosecutor announced that it made a suspect turned key witness. The authorities later admitted that they misjudged the risks for B.'s family. 

Statements made by Nabil B. linked fugitive Ridouan Taghi to at least eight murders, two attempted murders, and the preparations of two assassinations, Het Parool reported earlier this year.