Surinamese food chain targeted with shootings, explosives in Rotterdam, The Hague, Dordrecht
All three locations of the Surinamese restaurant chain Lobi BBQ were targeted in separate attacks on Sunday and Monday which may be connected. Gunshots struck the company’s takeaway location in Rotterdam and Dordrecht, and explosives were found outside the Dordrecht outlet and one in The Hague. One person was taken into custody early Monday morning in The Hague, and was set to be interrogated later in the day.
Gun-related crimes in Rotterdam & Dordrecht
It started with the shooting incidents in Rotterdam and Dordrecht. Police said that a pedestrian spotted the restaurant’s damaged glass, and found a shell casing in front of the Spuiweg location on Sunday afternoon. Officers were dispatched to the scene, and spoke with residents in the area, who said they heard the sounds of gunshots overnight.
Police believe the incident happened in the early morning hours of Sunday, likely before 3 a.m. Witnesses were asked to come forward, and the police hoped to collect camera and video images from residents and businesses in the neighborhood.
Then, at about 5 a.m., the takeaway company’s location on Volmarijnstraat in Rotterdam was also struck with gunfire several times. The police said they were investigating a link between the two incidents. The city of Rotterdam wasted no time, and swiftly moved to close the location for a two-week period while the case is investigated.
Explosives found in Dordrecht & The Hague
However, things escalated further early Monday morning when a suspicious was found in front of the Dordrecht location. Fire fighters, police officers, and paramedics raced to the scene at about 4 a.m. to investigate the situation.
A short while later, police confirmed an explosive was found at the scene. The Dutch military’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service (EOD) was brought in to help secure the item and safely destroy it.
Dordrecht Mayor Wouter Kolff confirmed on Twitter that an explosive was indeed found at the location. “This kind of crime has no place anywhere and certainly not in our city,” he said in a short statement. He pledged to work together with the police in Rotterdam and Dordrecht, as well as the Rotterdam district office of the Public Prosecution Service to “do what is necessary to prevent this or handle it safely.”
Then around 6 a.m., another possible explosive device was found near the Lobi BBQ on Hoefkade, in the Schilderswijk area of The Hague. The suspicious package found there was a small black package with a white cable that was several meters in length extending from the package.
The cable stretched from the package a short distance, and was mostly left wrapped up. Next to the black package was a white, half-opened box from a company that distributes sterile gloves.
The EOD was again brought in to help dispose of the device found in The Hague. Traffic was also shut down in the area for several hours as a result.
Possible suspect caught near The Hague incident
A 19-year-old man from Capelle aan den IJssel was stopped on Hoefkade, and brought in for questioning in connection with the incident in The Hague, police announced. Authorities said, “he behaved suspiciously at a location of this restaurant chain..
The police hoped that an interrogation could shed light on whether or not the incidents are linked.
In the past, hospitality businesses have been targeted in crude extortion schemes that put bar and restaurant owners in a lose-lose situation. They often are faced with a decision to comply with a criminal organization’s demands, or face violent incidents that typically happen when few if any workers or customers are present.
When those incidents happen, the municipality’s leadership can order the business closed for public safety reasons. In that case, the bar or restaurant owner will face financial damages whether or not they were involved with the extortionist.
