A 22-year-old Nieuw-Venneper scared the hell out of the necessary motorists on the A4 last night from a delivery van. He pretended to aim a firearm at the cars, after which the police removed him and the other occupants from the car with service weapons drawn. A search of the car revealed that the ‘firearm’ did not contain ammunition, but alcohol.
Several motorists reported to the police around 6:15 p.m. that an occupant of a delivery van pointed a long firearm at them. Agents are immediately dispatched. They get the delivery van on the Pieter Braaijweg in East Amsterdam in their sights. As soon as the driver has pulled over the bus, officers approach the vehicle with guns drawn and order the occupants to get out.
Bottle
Once all occupants have complied with that order, they will be handcuffed to the ground. When the bus is subsequently searched, it turns out that there is no firearm in it. However, agents do find a bottle of vodka in the form of an automatic firearm, which the Venneper had threatened shortly before.
The 22-year-old Haarlemmermeer was taken to the police station for questioning. After the other three occupants were released from their handcuffs, they were allowed to go.
Bystanders in the line of fire
During the so-called talk-out procedure on Pieter Braaijweg, not only the suspects, but also some bystanders were unintentionally pointed at police weapons. The police have spoken to them and offered them victim support. One of the bystanders was so shocked that the police brought her home.
The police advises owners of these types of ‘fake weapons’ to always leave them at home. It is often impossible for bystanders to see whether it is a real or a fake weapon. The police are also not always able to assess this properly, which means that the owner runs the risk that officers use their service weapons unnecessarily.
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