No one was injured. A tractor has been hit by a bullet. Three people have been arrested.
It happened at a ramp to the A32. Because an agent has shot, an investigation by the National Criminal Investigation Service follows.
Images and videos are circulating on social media. Also shown is a bullet hole in a tractor. One of the videos shows that officers appear to be on the road with guns drawn when a tractor with trailer drives past a police blockade. Then shots can be heard on the video. There is no evidence of any attack on officers.
‘Officers never ‘just’ grab the firearm’
On Twitter, people are wondering if the police fired too quickly. Maarten Brink of the police union ACP says he has seen the images online, but indicates that it is unclear what preceded them. According to him, officers “never ‘just’ grab the firearm.” “The gun is the heaviest.”
One person who questions the actions of the police is criminal lawyer Christian Flokstra. “The video raises questions about the need to shoot and so good research will have to follow,” he writes on Twitter. “What I am now afraid of is that the House of Representatives will debate a 35-second film.”
Farmers’ action group Agractie has shared the images on its Facebook page. “And still refuse to talk, Minister Van der Wal… Do people have to die first?” reads one of the captions. Agractie also states that the incident could have ended very differently if the bullet had been fired more to the left or to the right. “Are #farmers criminals dangerous to the state or something?”, the farmers’ action group wonders. “And from now on? Block police stations?”