Days after fatal Rotterdam arrest, police fire gunshot while chasing spray paint vandal

Police in Rotterdam fired a gunshot during the arrest of an alleged vandal on Thursday at around 9 a.m. The incident took place the same day that the district police chief issued an apology to the family of Alfredo Goeloe, who died over the weekend when he was arrested under the false suspicion that the 51-year-old was riding a stolen fatbike.

Police said the officer fired after the suspect sprayed paint into his face. A spokesperson emphasized that the shot was aimed at the suspect rather than fired as a warning. The suspect was not hit, and no one else was injured. An investigation by the Rijksrecherche, the National Internal Investigations Department, is underway. will now determine whether the officer was permitted to use their firearm, as is standard procedure whenever police fire a shot.

The suspect was defacing the courthouse with a paint sprayer when officers responsible for security confronted him. He sprayed one of the officers in the face at close range, prompting the officer to fire a shot. The suspect was unharmed and taken into custody. Footage shared by regional broadcaster Rijnmond shows a long, horizontal streak of red paint across the courthouse's exterior wall.

It comes days after Alfredo Goeloe on Sunday evening on the Vaarnerkamp in Rotterdam-Zuid while he was being arrested. Officers were searching for a stolen fat bike and arrested Goeloe because he could not provide identification. The bike that Goeloe was on turned out not to be the bike that the police were looking for.

The police chief, Tolga Köklü, expressed his condolences to Goeloe’s relatives on social media. He also spoke of his support for his colleagues who were involved in the incident. “The event has also had a significant impact on them.”

“I cannot give any details about the events that led to the victim’s death at this time. We are receiving a lot of questions, but the investigation is being conducted by the Rijksrecherce,” Köklü said. “I understand that this is not easy and this has brought up a lot of emotions and outrage. But I wish to call on everyone to remain calm and to wait for the findings of the investigation.”

One of Goeloe’s daughters is pressing charges against the officers involved in the arrest. She wishes for the officers to be prosecuted, her attorney Gerald Roethof has said.

There was unrest on Monday after the silent procession for Goeloe. Riot police were attacked at the police station on Zuidplein, where the procession ended. A spokesperson said that objects were thrown at the police station, which led to the riot police coming out. AN ANP photographer saw smoke clouds coming from the station during the violence.

A GoFundMe set up to support Goeloe’s family has almost reached its target of 13,000 euros. It was at around 12.600 euros at 1 p.m. on Thursday.