Teen stabbed to death in Rotterdam; Victim's friends launch vigilante manhunt

A 17-year-boy found stabbed on the street in Rozenburg, Rotterdam, died at the scene from his injures. Police said the victim was also a local resident.

"I saw them perform CPR, but after a few minutes they stopped. It was too late," an English-speaking neighbor told local broadcaster Rijnmond. "I heard noises outside," he said. "I heard screams. I actually thought boys were playing outside until I heard the police and fire department. My wife and I went outside and we saw a boy lying on the ground.”

Emergency services attempted to revive the teenager after arriving at the corner of Langeplaat and Laan van Nieuw Blankenburg at about 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Multiple ambulance crews, fire department teams, police and a helicopter trauma team were dispatched to the scene, records show. It was not immediately clear if some of the paramedics responded to treat the victim's father, who witnesses said fainted during the commotion.

"The perpetrator is known," another neighbor said. "People know this guy, they really do. There's a manhunt underway," she said, referring to the victim's family and friends who were aggressively looking for the person they thought killed the boy.

Neighbors told Rijnmond that the boy was an expectant father whose 16-year-old girlfriend is pregnant. Mourners placed flowers at the scene early Thursday morning.

Police spent the night speaking with residents and possible witnesses, while forensics units searched for trace evidence. Several apartments on the block were also shot at about a year ago.

"The world has gone crazy, especially in Rozenburg," a neighborhood woman said.