Cops wound “erratic” suspect in Hilversum; Third police-involved shooting in a week
Police responding to a report of an “erratic” person who allegedly committed arson in Hilversum drew their weapons and opened fire, injuring the suspect. The Tuesday afternoon incident on Zuiderheideweg is the third case in six days where police fired a targeted gunshot at a suspect, and wounded the individual.
The latest took place at about 2:05 p.m., about a half-hour after police arrived at the 't Hoogt van 't Kruis neighborhood in the Noord-Holland city. Police were dispatched to the scene following a report that a person was “exhibiting erratic behavior” on the street. “This individual allegedly started a fire and later threatened a passerby,” police said.
“Officers responded to the scene and used their firearms.” It is not yet clear why the situation prompted police to use their service weapons. “The person was injured and transported to the hospital,” police said.
The extent of their injuries has not been made public. Police have yet to disclose biographical details about the wounded person, including their age, gender, and place of residence.
It is at least the fourth incident under internal review by the Rijksrecherche in less than a week’s time, and the third regarding a police officer discharging a weapon. The investigative body is organized under the Public Prosecution Service, and combs over statements and forensic material. One of their tasks is to examine cases where police use force, with considerable attention paid to incidents resulting in an injury.
In Goes, a 46-year-old man was shot by a police officer at around 1:10 a.m. on Sunday after a domestic-related conflict. The situation reportedly started in Kapelle and ended in Goes, both municipalities of Zeeland.
“Officers immediately went to the scene,” using a specific tactical response for “dangerous persons” identified as being armed with a firearm or other weapon. “The suspect did not comply with repeated orders from the police, who subsequently felt compelled to fire multiple shots, hitting the suspect in the arm,” police said over the weekend.
That happened four days after police shot another man on Lutterveldweg in Tiel on Wednesday at around 3 a.m. after responding to a report of “unexplained behavior.” Police stated that the man threatened officers with a knife at the scene in the Gelderland municipality. The victim sustained serious injuries and was reportedly in critical condition for a period, according to De Gelderlander.
It is particularly uncommon for Dutch police to fire targeted gunshots multiple times in a single week. For the entirety of 2024, police officers shot suspects in 13 different incidents.
While cases involving police violence rose in recent years, figures were relatively stable in 2024. In fact, police firearm use even fell slightly when compared to 2023. Police used force 36,151 times in 2024, and fired a gunshot 1,760 times.
Out of that total, 215 were targeted shots. Aside from the 13 incidents where a person was hurt, 8 were aimed at an aggressive animal, and 194 were a last resort to relieve an injured animal of its suffering.
Statistics for 2025 have yet to be released.
