Haarlem mayor shocked by grenade left at city hall

A hand grenade being left at the Haarlem city hall on Wednesday shocked mayor Jos Wienen, certainly because the city hall is "a symbol of local democracy and local government", he said in a statement. He called the incident "horrible and unacceptable", Het Parool reports.

The grenade was discovered on the stairs in front of the city hall on Grote Markt at around 3:45 p.m. The building and area around it was promptly evacuated and explosive experts from the Ministry of Defense were called in to investigate. Just after 5:00 p.m. the police announced that the explosive had been removed and the area was safe again.

Wienen has been living under extra security for some time due to threats made against him. Where the threats are coming from is still unclear.

Spokespersons for the police and the mayor could not tell Het Parool whether this hand grenade had anything to do with threats made against Wienen.