A fifteen-year-old boy was shot dead by police outside a McDonald’s in the Netherlands on Sunday after allegedly stealing a ‘fatbike’ at gunpoint.
The suspect, named only as Jerryson, attempted to flee the scene with a firearm after being told to stop several times, a Rotterdam-Rijnmond police spokesperson said.
The incident occurred in front of ‘many young customers’ near the exit of the branch in Capelle aan den IJssel, near Rotterdam, Dutch outlet De Telegraaf reported.
Police claimed Jerryson had held up the owner of the off-road bicycle at around 4.30pm before fleeing to the McDonald’s and ‘brandishing his weapon again’.
Witnesses told De Telegraaf the teenager jumped a fence pursued by police, before three shots were fired.
Video circulating online purports to show a police officer firing at least three shots on the patio outside of a McDonald’s.
Emergency personnel tried to revive the suspect, but were unsuccessful in their efforts. A trauma helicopter was dispatched to the scene after the shooting.
‘A firearm was found at the scene. Whether it was a genuine firearm remains to be determined through further investigation,’ the police said.
‘We saw blood everywhere,’ two young witnesses said, as reported by Le Parisien.
‘The police tried to apply pressure to the wounds, but he didn’t survive.’
Police subsequently arrested a 15-year-old boy from Rotterdam and a 15-year-old from Gouda in connection to the robbery.
Footage circulating online purported to show the moment of the shooting on Sunday
Medics tried to save the boy, who died at the scene. Two others were later arrested
Joost Manusama, mayor of the village, said the shooting was ‘terrible and sad’ and ‘a great loss for the deceased boy’s relatives’.
The teenager’s foster mother, 59, is known locally as ‘Mother Teresa’ for her work helping the disadvantaged in her neighbourhood, Dutch media reports.
Sources told De Telegraaf that Jerryson had been placed with a woman from Curaçao in the Korte Akkeren neighborhood of Gouda.
The National Criminal Investigation Department took over the investigation from local police.
Investigations are underway at the scene of the robbery and the restaurant.
Manusama urged patience until the investigation is finished. The McDonald’s will remain closed until the probe is complete.
‘This is a great loss for the relatives of the deceased boy. I also realise that this incident has had a deep impact on all the bystanders who witnessed it. This can be particularly shocking and frightening for children,’ the mayor added.
Only one person was killed in a standoff with police in the Netherlands last year, according to NOS, citing police figures.
Police drew their weapons 1,700 times and fired targeted shots just 13 times.
