Dutch police are responding to an apparent mass shooting on Great Witten Street, east Amsterdam on Friday evening, which has left one dead and two wounded.
Update 18:08 EST: Police have confirmed that the individual killed was a 17-year-old young man of Moroccan descent. Witnesses to the shooting say the attackers were wielding Kalashnikov rifles.
The news has fueled speculation that the shooting could be linked to the so-called “Mocro War” between rival Moroccan gangs which has seen a series of killings over the last several years including a decapitated head left in an Amsterdam street in 2016.
UPDATE 15:40 EST: Dutch media have claimed that the victim in the shooting was a teenage male and that the shooters were wearing balaclavas to conceal their faces. Police have so far not commented on the identity of the victim or the shooters who are still on the loose.
The Amsterdam police released a statement Friday evening stating one man had been killed in the “multiple shootings”, while two others had been transferred to a nearby hospital with injuries.
A police manhunt for suspects is underway and several streets adjacent to the shooting have been closed off. No arrests have yet been made.
Schietincident Grote Wittenburgerstraat:
1 persoon is overleden, 2 andere personen zijn met onbekend letsel naar ziekenhuizen overgebracht.
Recherche is uitgebreid onderzoek gestart.
Er zijn 2 PD's ingericht en straten zijn afgezet. Meer info volgt indien beschikbaar.— Politie Amsterdam eo (@Politie_Adam) January 26, 2018
National newspaper De Telegraaf states police have received a large number of enquiries over whether the shooting was related to terror, to which they reportedly responded: “that is certainly not the case… it seems to be a criminal matter.”
This story is developing
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