Prominent Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries was seriously injured in an attack in central Amsterdam on Tuesday. He was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head, police confirmed. The reasons for the attack have not yet been reported.
According to media reports, at about 7.30 pm, an unknown person fired at 64-year-old de Vries in Leidseplein in the center of Amsterdam as the journalist was leaving the TV studio. Shortly before this, de Vries participated in a live broadcast.
Five shots were fired at close range, and de Vries was wounded in the head. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said the journalist was “fighting for her life” and condemned the incident as “a brutal and heartless attack.” According to police, three people were detained in hot pursuit in connection with the shooting. Two suspects were arrested in a car on the motorway in Leidsendam, and the third in Amsterdam, and presumably among them was the shooter.
De Vries is a leading crime reporter in the Netherlands and regularly serves as a victim or witness spokesperson for trials. He is currently a confidant of a government witness in a major lawsuit against drug lord Riduan Tagi. Tagi is now on trial for murder and drug smuggling.
The witness, assisted by the journalist, is known as Nabil B; he himself was previously involved in the activities of a criminal group. In September 2019, lawyer Nabil B was killed outside his home in Amsterdam.
Dutch Justice Minister Ferd Grapperhaus called the assassination victim “an extraordinary journalist” and “an admirable fighter against injustice.”
Famous Greek crime reporter killed in Athens on April 9 Georgy Karaivazspecialized in criminal investigations. After 3 months, the police still did not attack the trail of the killers.
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