At least one dead following shooting in Amsterdam

Police have sealed off area in Grote Wittenburgerstraat and Centrum Oost district

Dutch police confirmed in the past hour via its official Twitter account that the shooting occurred in the Grote Wittenburgerstraat (general view above) and Centrum Oost area. File photograph: Google Street View
Dutch police confirmed in the past hour via its official Twitter account that the shooting occurred in the Grote Wittenburgerstraat (general view above) and Centrum Oost area. File photograph: Google Street View

At least one person has been killed following a shooting in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam on Friday, although the incident does not appear to be terror-related.

Dutch police confirmed earlier on Friday via its official Twitter account that the shooting occurred in the Grote Wittenburgerstraat and Centrum Oost area.

They said one person was confirmed dead, while two more have been taken to hospital with unknown injuries.

The streets around where the incident occurred were sealed off.

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According to local reports, bystanders saw men “in balaclavas with a Kalashnikov” and other automatic weapons at the scene.

People in the vicinity are said to have taken evasive action when the shooting began.

De Telegraaf reports that the victim is a teenager, and that he was shot in a playground, although police have yet to confirm that report.

An eyewitness told the newspaper that it appeared the victim was searched for.

Another eyewitness said there were several people injured, and that the fire service had resuscitated a victim. A number of ambulances and a trauma helicopter attended the scene.

A spokesman for the Dutch police told De Telegraaf: "It seems to be a criminal matter. We would [otherwise] send a lot of messages with the message that people have to get to safety."

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter