Rotterdam – It burned. Firecrackers popped. Thousands of chaos raged in Rotterdam on Friday evening.
A police helicopter circled over the city center, observing the situation from the air. People protested against the government’s 2G policy. Videos show police firing warning shots. According to the Dutch broadcaster “NOS” two people are said to have been shot by the emergency services. However, the exact details are unclear.
So far confirmed the police only said that there had been injuries “in connection with the shooting”. The emergency services would receive many questions about photos and videos showing a man who was allegedly shot down. The Rotterdam police wrote on their website: “How and by whom he was injured is still unclear.”
The man injured by a gunshot is said to have survived. This was announced by rescue workers when asked by BILD. BILD reporter Sebastian Prengel, who has been on site since the evening riots began, reports: “It looks like the situation is slowly calming down. Dozens of people were injured and at least one man was shot. The city center is downright devastated. “The officers were completely overwhelmed and at the beginning of the demonstration were only on bicycles.
Burning barricades. Like here, there were fire in many places in the city centerPhoto: Christoph Reichwein (crei)
In the past few days there had been repeated arguments. But now the situation threatens to escalate!
The police said that the situation in the city center around the Coolsingel was still unclear. “In order to restore public order as quickly as possible, a large-scale police operation is required.” An emergency ordinance is in force. The emergency services asked people to stay away from the city center.
At the beginning of the demonstration, firecrackers flew and Bengali fires were lit. Hooded hooligans set police cars on fire. Police officers were chased through the streets.
People came to the city center to demonstrate against strict corona measures. Many remained peaceful, others followed blind destructive ragePhoto: Christoph Reichwein (crei)
The situation was dire, the police outnumbered. When the first forces arrived, stones and bicycles flew. Several anarchists surrounded officials and beat them to the ground. In view of the hopeless situation, the police withdrew.
The police said on Twitter that rioters had set off fireworks and that the authorities had closed the city’s main train station.
Local media reports that soccer hooligans were involved in the rioting.
These police cars were left behind. The mob smashed the windows, then set the cars on firePhoto: Christoph Reichwein (crei)
An empty cartridge case lies on the sidewalk. According to initial reports, at least one person is said to have been shot. The police fired several warning shotsPhoto: Christoph Reichwein (crei)
While the police were gathering, the angry mob set trash cans and cars on fire. Blind destruction raged, people used street signs to beat police cars that had been left behind. In the meantime, the forces are on site with water cannons, clearing the streets with them.
The Dutch government has announced that it will introduce a law that would allow entrepreneurs and restaurateurs to only let people into shops, restaurants and bars who are fully vaccinated or have recovered. This is already part of everyday life in parts of Germany and other countries
The Netherlands has seen a number of record numbers of infections in the past few days. A partial lockdown came into effect a week ago.