A man of unidentified race was savagely attacked by a mob near Amsterdam New-West after he held up a supermarket with a bread knife on Monday.
 |
| Google Street View |
The robber placed the bread knife to the neck of a 23-year-old cashier at the Albert Heijn on Pieter Calandlaan -- a branch of the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands -- and immediately was pelted with objects by staff and employees. Had the man truly possessed murderous intent, he could have very well cut open the neck of the cashier, but instead he tried to flee the supermarket once confronted with force.
A group of individuals -- also of unidentified race -- began to give chase and further assaulted the suspect, leaving him unconscious and bloody on the street, his face sliced open. One individual even returned and further bashed the unconscious suspect once he learned that he'd put a knife to the neck of a cashier.
 | |
| ATL5 |
Mimoun Ouled Radi, a known Dutch actor of Moroccan descent, told Nu News: "I was concerned for the man, I was going to run down to help him."
Mr. Radi witnessed everything from a terrace, but couldn't do anything once he learned the individual was a suspected robber. Had Mr. Radi gone to protect the life of the suspect, he surely could have been brutally beaten too.
Roy Griffin, the manager of the Albert Heijn, told Het Parool: "6 customers jumped on top of the guy, I was happy to see the customers so involved."
According to Het Parool, the robber wore no mask, and thus could have been easy to apprehend by the police in a manner that did not place his life or the life of the individuals in the supermarket at risk.
De Telegraaf reported that the suspect is currently in the hospital. Police found him unconscious, next to some bloody bills -- the meager 25 euros he had stolen. None of the individuals who nearly lynched him outside of the supermarket were apprehended or even questioned by the police.
As is the case with Dutch media, the identity of suspects is not revealed, nor is the race. Everything is one large mystery in this "race-blind" country, but one thing is certain: people don't trust the police to be able to competently do their jobs. Mob violence is usually something found in developing countries with corrupt and inefficient police and courts, where people don't trust public institutions.
Comments on ATL5 regarding the incident ranged from: "That type of person [the suspect] must be continually bashed until the police arrive, in order to minimize the risk that he reoffends" to "I hope he suffers long from his injuries."
