Brawl breaks out after locals steal fatbikes from The Hague asylum shelter; Four hurt
There were two brawls at a shelter for unaccompanied child asylum seekers in The Hague on March 6 after young people from the neighborhood stole fat bikes from the shelter, Omroep West reported based on a letter from the municipality. Four people got hurt - three local teenagers and one from the shelter.
It involves the Jordans Residence shelter on Gevers Deynootweg, which the asylum agency COA has used as a shelter for unaccompanied child asylum seekers since February 14.
During the early hours of Thursday, March 6, several teenagers from the shelter discovered that their fat bikes had been stolen. Only the cut locks of the bikes were left behind. They presumably chased down the perpetrators at around 1:45 a.m., the municipality said in the letter. “This resulted in a confrontation on the street with the three boys.” Security and supervisors intervened.
About 45 minutes later, the police received another report of a fight at the shelter. There was another confrontation between a local teen and two children from the shelter. “During this situation, the fat bikes were recovered,” the municipality said.
Three local boys and one child from the shelter sustained injuries during the brawls. The police are investigating what happened. So far, no arrests have been made.
The city and the COA increased security at the shelter for the coming weeks. They also decided to accommodate no new young people at the Jordans Residence for the time being. And they’re looking into a more secure place to store the young asylum seekers’ fat bikes so that they are not stolen again.
“We regret that this happened and take this very seriously,” the municipality of The Hague wrote, according to AD. “The [office of mayor and aldermen] is upset about the fact that the young people who are being accommodated in Jordans Residence were outside at this time, against the house rules, and that security did not get the situation sufficiently under control. The office will discuss this with the COA to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
If the city wrote anything about the neighborhood boys who stole the fat bikes, AD did not mention it.
The VVD has requested a city council debate about the matter. “It is unacceptable that this could have happened. Not one but two fights, in the middle of the night. How is this possible?! What a failure by the COA! The municipal council also has to hear this news from the media and is only informed a day and a half later,” VVD city councilor Lotte van Basten said on X.
