Tuesday, July 6th, 2021
Stop in front of the TV studio
Famous crime reporter gunned down
In the Netherlands, Peter R. de Vries is the leading crime reporter. Apparently, his research on organized crime makes him a target. The 64-year-old is gunned down in Amsterdam.
According to the police, the prominent Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries was seriously injured in an attack in the middle of Amsterdam. The police confirmed that he was hospitalized with a shot in the head. Nothing has yet been communicated about the background to the crime.
The attack shocked many Dutch people, and TV stations reported on the case in special programs. Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Justice Minister Ferd Grapperhaus met with the anti-terrorism agency that evening. Politicians from several parties and the journalists’ union reacted with horror. The police were looking for a suspect who allegedly escaped in a car.
At around 7.30 p.m., according to media reports, an unknown person shot 64-year-old de Vries at Leidseplein in the center of Amsterdam when the journalist had left a TV studio. De Vries had recently taken part in a live broadcast. Witnesses recognized the victim, and videos from the crime scene were also distributed on social media.
De Vries has been the Netherlands’ leading crime reporter since researching the kidnapping of Dutch beer mogul Freddy Heineken in 1983. In 2006 he reported investigative into the disappearance of the teenage girl Natalee Holloway.
He also regularly appears as a spokesperson for victims or witnesses at trials. He is currently the key witness in a major trial against the organized crime involving Ridouan Taghi, who has already been imprisoned. In connection with the trial, the attorney for the key witness had already been shot in 2019.
In May 2019, De Vries announced that he would be on Taghi’s death list. According to De Vries, an attempt at intimidation to stop the proceedings against the Moroccan. The alleged drug lord is said to have said in a letter that De Vries had nothing to fear. The appointment of a key witness, who is also considered an archenemy of Taghi, is said to have brought De Vries back into the line of fire, according to media reports.
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