Dozens of people visited the so-called aftercare bus on Leidseplein on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Victim Support Netherlands said. Until 8 p.m., people from the municipality, police and Victim Support Netherlands were on the bus for people who had seen the hostage situation at the Apple Store on Tuesday evening.
People who passed by the bus ranged from Amsterdam residents who expressed concern about the hostages to people whose hostage situation evoked previous trauma. “That’s the advantage of the bus. Because of the low threshold, people pass by who otherwise would not have come,” said the spokesperson. Since the bus is not an ideal place for long conversations, in some cases these were conducted elsewhere. Or Victim Support will contact these people later.
Local residents were especially amazed at the striking role that social media played, for example about the live streams that were broadcast of the hostage situation. “Local residents had their doubts about that,” said the spokesperson. Police on Tuesday had to approach people who were broadcasting live images of the situation via social media, asking them to stop.
Lost bike
A man also got on the bus to ask the police where his bicycle was. He was cycling on Leidseplein just as it was being evicted and was moved into a nearby cinema for shelter, but couldn’t find his bike after that.
Victim Support says it has not yet had a request to be ready for the bus again on Thursday. People who want help can call themselves on 0900-0101 or contact them via the chat on the website.
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