If it is up to the Public Prosecution Service, three men aged 19, 20, and 21 from Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel face years in prison for their role in placing a heavy explosive in a portico flat in Allard Piersonstraat in Rotterdam Delfshaven. They are facing sentences of 10 years, 9 years, and 9 years and 8 months respectively. “The suspects have committed very serious offenses in a ruthless manner,” said the public prosecutor during the hearing.
A huge bang was heard on September 10, 2024, around half past four in the morning in Allard Piersonstraat, and immediately a huge fire broke out. Emergency services rushed en masse to rescue residents from their apartments and to ensure that the flames did not spread to other buildings. Three residents had to perform dangerous maneuvers to climb from their balcony to a neighboring balcony. The stairwell and their homes were on fire, and the rooms filled with toxic smoke.
After the fire brigade extinguished the fire, 30 homes were evacuated and 40 people were rescued. The damage to the building is so severe that 14 homes remain uninhabitable to this day. The residents lost all their belongings.
Camera footage
Immediately after the fire, the police launched a major investigation. Among other things, they examined camera footage. The footage shows that just before half past four that morning, a man with a hurried pace and a bag in his hand walked into the street. A little over two minutes later, the same person can be seen running in the opposite direction, this time without a bag. Through cameras in the area, the route of the man, identified by the Public Prosecution Service as the 20-year-old from Nieuwerkerk, can be traced back.
This is how the detectives also discovered that he, along with the other two suspects, had been in the vicinity of the building the night before for reconnaissance. They are seen in the camera footage driving slowly through the street and studying the building. The license plate of the car can be traced back to the 21-year-old from Nieuwerkerk, who was arrested shortly thereafter. When the police examined his phone, many puzzle pieces fell into place.
There was extensive contact between him and the 20-year-old suspect before and after the explosion. A 19-year-old local also appears in the conversations. He is viewed by the Public Prosecution Service as the coordinator in the attack plan. The three turn out to be friends who have previously committed criminal offenses. Photos of the portico in Allard Piersonstraat were shared, and the address was searched. Even before the fire and explosion in Rotterdam made the news, the suspects had already searched the internet for those terms. The 20-year-old suspect also filmed emergency services rushing to Allard Piersonstraat and reported to the co-suspects.
The 19-year-old and 21-year-old suspects also appear in an investigation into an explosion in June 2024 at a shisha lounge on Schiedamseweg in Rotterdam during the investigation into the fire in Allard Piersonstraat. They were also tried for that today and faced a higher sentence than their co-suspect.
Attempted murder
The trio is not only suspected of involvement in placing the explosive in the flats portico but also of multiple attempts at murder. The public prosecutor stated: “It could have ended very differently. With an explosion of this magnitude, in the middle of the night, with sleeping people and a barricaded escape route. Inhaling toxic smoke can be fatal within minutes. Fire is unpredictable and spreads rapidly.”
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the recent explosions in The Hague also underscore the seriousness of the matter. “Criminals imitate each other,” said the prosecutor during the hearing. “The feeling of insecurity for entrepreneurs and residents in neighborhoods affected by this is growing week by week. All because various young suspects are being used for quick money and committing acts of revenge. Fourteen families have no home anymore. I find it incomprehensible and hold the suspects heavily accountable for not providing any explanation or statement for the victims.”