Video circulates of asylum seekers in Volendam targeted with paintball gun

Two residents of an asylum shelter near Volendam were shot at with a paintball gun from a passing car on Sunday, AD reported on Tuesday. Though neither was injured, one of them filed a report. A video of the incident with the text “shooting refugees” is circulating on social media.

The video depicts a man in the passenger seat firing at the two people using what appears to be a Gel Blaster, a paintball gun that shoots small water-based gel balls. Two other men are in the car.

The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) identified the victims as two adult men from an asylum center. "We don't know who did this. But if it turns out to be local residents, it's especially regrettable and surprising,” a COA spokesperson said to AD. “We are aware there's criticism about the shelter, but in general, the inhabitants are positive and supportive towards our residents.”

A temporary asylum seekers' reception location was recently established in the Van der Valk Hotel Volendam in Katwoude, accommodating up to 160 residents. NH Nieuws noted last week that there was significant unrest among Volendam residents prior to the shelter's opening.

Reacting to the incident, a spokesperson for the Edam-Volendam municipality condemned the video as "cowardly and reprehensible," noting the malicious intent evident from the text on the video. "We don't know yet who these people were, but we assume that everyone in our municipality will distance themselves from this."

The police previously announced that they were investigating the case. The police would like the people responsible to come forward, to have "at the very least a serious conversation with them," said a spokesperson to NH Nieuws. "If they have the courage, they'll report to us."

Coffee mornings will soon be held at the Katwoude reception center for people to meet and get acquainted. "The perpetrators are also welcome," the COA spokesperson said to NH Nieuws.