Bomb scare prompts evacuation on Rotterdam street hit with gunfire days earlier
An explosive device was found outside a cafe in Rotterdam's Kralingen-Crooswijk neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, prompting an immediate evacuation of the vicinity, the police have confirmed. It was the same location that was shot at nine days ago.
So far, there is no indication as to whether or not the two incidents are related, according to the police. "We have to check. But it did happen at the same place, so we have to get to the bottom of it," a spokesperson told NL Times.
The incident began at around 12:30 p.m., when officers responded to an emergency call on Frits Ruysstraat. They called for further assistance shortly after, and with the help from the local fire brigade and the military's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service, the device was removed and later detonated safely at the Park Rozenburg.
Explosief is tot ontploffing gebracht in het #Parkrozenburg. NFI doet verder onderzoek naar het soort explosief via de restanten. #fritsruysstraat #explosie pic.twitter.com/VgsZ8GUERh
— Politie Eenheid Rotterdam eo (@POL_Rotterdam) May 21, 2020
Residents were allowed back into the area within two hours of the device's discovery, police confirmed.
An investigation has been launched into the incident to determine who was responsible for planting the device outside of the cafe, which was the target of a separate shooting incident in the early hours of May 12. No injuries resulted from either incident.