Overview
- A masked group taped over cameras, hurled stones and lit heavy fireworks at IJsselstein’s town hall, wounding an officer and forcing police to pull back for reinforcements.
- Windows at the town hall and the adjoining Fulcotheater were shattered, fireworks exploded inside the building, and graffiti was sprayed, according to police.
- Police opened an investigation and asked witnesses to share footage as prosecutors said they are treating the case as a priority.
- Mayor Ester Weststeijn called the attack “an assault on our city,” and Utrecht mayor Sharon Dijksma warned that the asylum debate is sliding into violence.
- Separately, six people were arrested for public order offenses at a Utrecht protest, and police are probing a series of explosions at homes on Crocusstraat and an earlier blast at Ridderkerk’s De Fakkel pool, where suspects aged 13 and 15 have been identified.