A party in a party center in Amstelveen got completely out of hand last night. Rioters there raged, started fighting and clashed with security, among other things. The police were also attacked. More than 20 people have been arrested.
The police had to intervene hard last night for the disturbances. Dozens of police officers with dogs came to the party center at the Touwslagerij, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee was called in to help. That turned out not to be easy: the rioting youths also turned against the police.
Officers were pelted with stones and parts of paving stones. A police officer was injured and taken to hospital. One of the rioters drove his car into the officers. The driver of the car was immediately arrested.
Things would have gotten out of hand because young people became aggressive, because they were stopped by security at the door and not allowed in.
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Restless all night
It had been restless in the area all evening, so the police were already on their feet. Agents had been trying to drive several young people away from the party center all evening, reports media partner ON!.
There was a lot of vandalism. Several bus shelters had to suffer and destruction was also committed in the adjacent residential area.
More than twenty arrests
Ultimately, the restless night led to more than twenty arrests, but even those were not without a struggle. The police had to use force to handcuff some of the detainees.
The rioters were eventually driven from the party center with long batons. All those arrested were taken to the police station.
Alderman Herbert Raat calls the fight and the many vandalism scandalous. He speaks on social media with surprise about the extensive damage caused by the destruction. “Fortunately, there are enough cameras to properly portray perpetrators,” he writes. Mayor Tjapko Poppens will make a statement later today.