Suspect in Amsterdam fatal shooting arrested in Valencia, Spain

The Spanish Guardia Civil arrested a Dutchman in the coastal city of Valencia on Thursday. The 21-year-old, Erxinio L. from Amsterdam, is suspected of manslaughter or murder in relation to the fatal shooting of Orpheo Gefferie on May 18, 2019, in an Amsterdam parking garage on the Amstelstraat. 

An argument at a pay terminal just before 4:30 a.m. in the garage at The Bank near Rembrandtplein preceded the shooting. Gefferie was the only person injured. The Almere man in his mid-twenties died at an area hospital leaving behind a seven-year-old son.

The police have been looking for the suspect since shortly after the crime took place. Four others were detained in the shooting after they fled the scene. Soon after three of them were released, police said they believed L. burned his clothing after he escaped from the garage.

They had given him an ultimatum to turn himself in, which he failed to do. Subsequently, they released picture and he was placed on an international list of wanted criminals.

On January 29, 2020, the Public Prosecution Service demanded a fifteen-year prison sentence against the 21-year-old. The criminal case against him for involvement in the shooting in the parking garage was then handled in absentia.

The next court hearing is scheduled to take place on March 5, 2021.

Before the shooting, the victim had reportedly filed an appeal in a home burglary case for which he was found guilty. His attorney characterized Gefferie as someone who had put his past misdeeds behind him and was moving forward with his life.

The mother of Gefferie's child called him "the best dad" to their son, and wrote, "We will forever love you," in a post on social media soon after Gefferie died.