Four arrested for vandalizing LGBTQI+ interest group's office in Rotterdam

The police arrested four suspects for spray painting homophobic slogans on the facade of the COC office in Rotterdam last year. Investigators identified the suspects based on surveillance camera footage, the police said in a statement.

The LBTGQI+ interest organization's office on Sciedamsesingel was vandalized in September last year. Someone spraypainted homophobic slogans and the tag RJK, which stands for Rotterdam Jongeren Kern, on the office facade.

The police arrested the suspects - a 26-year-old from Capelle aan den IJssel, a 27-year-old from Dordrecht, a 22-year-old from Hoogvliet, and a 24-year-old from Rotterdam - on Monday. 

In August, similar slogans were spraypainted on a gym in Rotterdam. The gym belongs to the founder of the Roze Kameraden, the Feyenoord supporters club for the LBGTQI+ community, which was founded shortly before the incident. The gym was also set on fire.

The police are still investigating whether the same suspects defaced both buildings.