Fifth anniversary of Pieter R. de Vries's assassination; Son focusing on good memories
Today marks the fifth anniversary of crime reporter Pieter R. de Vries being gunned down in Amsterdam on July 6, 2021. He succumbed to his injuries nine days later. On Instagram, his son Royce reflects on his father’s assassination, saying he chooses to focus on the good memories.
“On the one hand, it feels like yesterday,” Royce wrote. “On the other hand, so much has happened. We have lived a whole life since then.”
He calls it painful that his father has missed so much. “He didn’t see my sons grow up and was unable to experience so many beautiful and special moments in our lives. That hurts. It is precisely in these moments that I still miss him terribly.”
But he chooses not to dwell on that too long. “Today, I mainly want to think about all the beautiful memories, about who he was, about his humor, his love, and everything he gave us. I carry that with me every day.”
Peter R. de Vries was gunned down on July 6, 2021, on Lange Leidsedwarsstraat in Amsterdam as he left the studio of the television program RTL Boulevard, where he was a guest that night. The crime reporter spent several days in a coma in the hospital, where he died of his injuries on July 15 at the age of 64.
Two of the perpetrators, gunman Delano G. and getaway driver Kamil E., were arrested on the evening of the assassination. Krystian M., who coordinated the assassination, was arrested later. In December 2025, the trio was sentenced on appeal to up to 27.5 years in prison.
De Vries’s assassination was almost immediately linked to drug trafficking kingpin Ridouan Taghi. De Vries acted as confidant to Nabil B., a suspect turned witness on Taghi’s organization. B.’s brother, Reduan, and lawyer, Derk Wiersum, were also assassinated.
In March 2026, the authorities announced that they had linked De Vries’s assassination to the Taghi organization. Another suspect in the case made a statement identifying Jaouad F., a relative of Taghi, as the person who ordered the attack on De Vries.
The perpetrators of De Vries’s assassination have been convicted. The investigation into who ordered him killed and why is still ongoing.
