As Reporter Was Shot, 2 Suspicious Men Filmed Him

Police believe killers wanted video on Internet for 'maximum attention'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 28, 2021 1:28 PM CDT
Suspicious Men Filmed Famed Crime Reporter Being Shot
Some thousands of people line up to pay their last respects to slain crime reporter Peter R. de Vries at a theater on the banks of the Amstel River in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, Wednesday July 21, 2021.   (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)

The killers of renowned crime reporter Peter R. de Vries may have wanted their own report on the crime, investigators in the Netherlands say. Police say two men seen on surveillance footage followed the 64-year-old from a studio to his car, took out their phones before he was shot on an Amsterdam street earlier this month, and then circled him after he had been wounded, apparently recording him. De Vries, who had assisted the trial of an alleged gang leader, died from his injuries a week later. Investigators believe people involved in the murder posted videos of the critically injured man online to attract publicity, the Guardian reports.

"If you want maximum attention, you do this," a police source tells Algemeen Dagblad. "Then you ensure that shocking videos immediately spread across the Internet." YouTube later removed videos of bystanders rushing to help de Vrie; some of those videos included gruesome footage of the injured man. The two men, who were dressed almost identically in grey sweaters and blue jeans, have not been identified, the NL Times reports. The alleged gunman, a 21-year-old Dutchman identified as Delano G, and the suspected getaway driver, a 35-year-old Polish man identified as Kamil E, were arrested soon after the shooting. (More Netherlands stories.)

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