19-year-old sentenced to four months for shooting fireworks at police in Schiedam
A 19-year-old man was sentenced to four months in prison, two of which are suspended, for attacking police officers with a firework launcher on New Year’s Eve in Schiedam. The sentence matches the public prosecutor's demand. The officers were struck but were unharmed thanks to protective gear.
On the night of December 31, the man fired a so-called firework machine gun at three officers from an arrest unit. One officer described the barrage as “like a hail of bullets,” while the others called the experience “absurd” and “abnormal,” NOS reported.
The prosecution charged him with attempted grievous bodily harm. The act was considered especially serious because he targeted police officers and carried out the attack during New Year’s celebrations.
The attack in Schiedam was part of a larger pattern of violence during the holiday. Over New Year's, 528 emergency workers, including 400 police officers, sustained injuries across the Netherlands.
Authorities have apprehended approximately 250 suspects so far. At least four cases, including the Schiedam incident, have been or will be handled in expedited trials, while investigations into dozens of other cases are ongoing.
