A'dam mayor on fatal shooting victim; "Paid highest price for his courage"

Mayor Femke Halsema of Amsterdam expressed her condolences to the friends and family of Bas van Wijk, who was shot dead at the Nieuwe Meer in Amsterdam on Saturday. "Everything indicates that he is an innocent victim who paid the highest price for his courage," Halsema said in a short statement.

Eye witnesses reported that the 24-year-old man was shot while trying to prevent a friend's watch from being stolen. The shooting happened in broad daylight at the popular swimming spot, with hundreds of people picnicking, swimming and sunbathing around.

Halsema called it "unbearable and deeply sad for his family and friends that Bas has been so violently snatched from their midst."

The police investigation and search for the perpetrator has highest priority, the mayor said. And the municipality of Amsterdam is open to "an appropriate commemoration for Bas."