Amstelveen shooting kills 56-year-old convicted extortionist
Police in Amstelveen were investigating a shooting that left one man dead on Wednesday morning. One suspect was still at large hours after the incident happened.
The shooting was reported at about 10:50 a.m. on Wieringerstraat near Texelstraat. Local residents called police after they heard the shots ring out. Officers arriving on the scene found the victim lying wounded in the street. Although he was initially able to speak, he died a short time later in hospital from his injuries," police said.
Police identified the victim as a 56-year-old man from Almere who had previous run-ins with law enforcement. No motive was revealed, and police were still trying to sort out what led up to the shooting early in the evening.
Local media said that the victim was Itzhak Meiri, an Israeli who is well known in the Amsterdam criminal underworld. He was convicted of extorting Amsterdam business owners in 2008, and sentenced to 6.5 years in prison. He was warned by police repeatedly that he was on a hit list, including last summer, Parool reported.
A tracking device was found on Meiri's car around the same time Turkish-Dutch drug trafficker Ahmet G. and his daughter were shot at home in Amstelveen. When the suspects were arrested in that case, they found an SD card that had images of Meiri's home, according to the newspaper.
Witnesses said a man who was about 20 years of age pulled the trigger, killing the victim on Wednesday, police said. The gunman was described as being about 1.80 meters tall, wearing a dark shirt or jacket, jeans, and a black beanie hat. He was last seen near the Rembrandtweg area, not far from the crime scene.
Forensic investigators spent the afternoon collecting trace evidence, police said. Witnesses told reporters that a mobile phone was found on the ground near a BMW 750LD parked at the crime scene.
Detectives said that anyone with information about the case, including relevant camera images, should contact them immediately.
