More explosions & gunfire in Amsterdam and Rotterdam areas last night

Monday night was one of violent incidents in the Netherlands, with three shootings and two explosions in the Amsterdam and Rotterdam regions. One person got hurt in a shooting in Amsterdam. The other incidents involved only material damage.

The Amsterdam shooting happened at around 1:25 a.m. on Bijlmerdreef. First responders found a person with a gunshot wound in a home on the street. They were taken to a hospital. The police cordoned off the area for an investigation and called for witnesses to come forward.

An explosion went off at an apartment building on Bullepad in Amsterdam Nieuw-West at around 4:10 a.m., AT5 reported. The blast damaged the building’s front door, post boxes, and facade. It looks like someone threw the explosive through the mail slot. No one got hurt.

There have been around 24 explosions in Amsterdam so far this year, according to AT5.

Rotterdam had two shootings overnight. Shots were fired on Stadionweg around 7:50 p.m. and on Koninginneweg in the IJsselmonde district at around 11:25 p.m., the Rotterdam police said on Twitter. No one got hurt.

And in Hellevoetsluis, about 40 kilometers away from Rotterdam, an explosive went off at a home on De Zicht at around 4:15 a.m. on Tuesday. No one got hurt. “The police are investigating and searched the area for the perpetrators,” the Rotterdam police said.

Rotterdam police chief Fred Westerbeke called on people who have any information about the explosions to come forward. “There are many more people who know what is happening and what is going on,” he said on Nieuwsuur on Monday. “And by not reporting it, you are also guilty of the fact that it keeps happening.” Information can be shared anonymously.

There have been around 50 explosions targeting Rotterdam homes and businesses so far this year. Like Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, Westerbeke expects that they are part of drug-related conflicts between various criminal groups. “For example, they’re fighting with each other about seized drugs, about stole cargoes, or other matters. They threaten each other.”