Suspect claims self-defense in fatal Amsterdam coffeeshop shooting

The 28-year-old man suspected of a fatal shooting in the center of Amsterdam on November 19 says he shot in self-defense. He also claims that he pulled the trigger before he realized what was happening. The victim threatened to stab him, the suspect says.

That became apparent on Tuesday during the first public court hearing in the criminal case against the suspect, Mohammed H. from Middleburg, at the court in Amsterdam. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has a completely different view of what happened, based on the investigation conducted so far. The shooting was the direct result of an escalating argument over hundreds of thousands of drug money and H. allegedly got the order to shoot the 33-year-old victim on the spot, the OM believes.

The violence happened in a coffeeshop on Kloveniersburgwal near Nieuwmarkt. The victim was shot in the head with one bullet and later succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. Two suspects fled in a car.

H. reported to the police a day later. According to his lawyer, he immediately confessed that he was the shooter and wanted to provide “maximum insight into his actions.” At the hearing, H. repeated his apologies to the victim’s relatives. “From the bottom fo my heart,” said H. “it was not intentional.”

The second suspect was arrested in Germany shortly after the shooting. He has since been extradited to the Netherlands, and provided an initial statement about the circumstances. Prosecutors want both men to appear together at the next hearing on May 14.

The second suspect was "widely involved in drugs and money,” the OM said based on an investigation into the contents of his telephone. H. is said to have worked with him in the past. Prosecutors alleged that the feud that resulted from the shooting is still ongoing.

The court ruled that H. will remain in pre-trial custody for the time being.