The Public Prosecution Service today demanded 4 years in prison for the 20-year-old man from Amsterdam who supplied the weapon to the suspect serial shooter from IJsselmonde. In addition to providing the firearm and possessing a weapon himself, he is also accused of having imported 28 alarm pistols from Estonia.
The deal took place on November 20: the suspect sold a converted firearm to the serial shooter. They made the deal via Snapchat, a method he presumably used before. The profit model is clear to the Public Prosecution Service: he brings alarm pistols from abroad, converts them into real firearms, and then sells them at a profit of several hundred euros each.
Accomplice
The question that is central in the courtroom today is whether the 20-year-old suspect is an accomplice to the death of three people, as he sold the firearm including ammunition to the shooter? Research shows that the serial shooter, leading up to the sale, said during a chat with the suspect arms dealer about the payment: As long as I can kill someone with it. However, the Public Prosecution Service concludes that this single statement is insufficient to establish that the suspect knew what the buyer was planning at the time of the deal. To prove someone is an accomplice, it must be shown that the person was largely aware of the criminal plan. In this case, there was no such evidence; the text could also refer to something else, such as killing an animal. It also plays a role that the suspect had never had contact with the suspect serial shooter before and they did not know each other.
Prosecution
The suspect had already been convicted in 2022 for importing alarm pistols into Germany. Despite his conviction, he is said to have been involved again in arms trading, according to the Public Prosecution Service. He is accused of having imported 28 gas alarm pistols from Estonia. Although there are strong suspicions that the suspect has converted, tested, and traded weapons, the Public Prosecution Service believes there is insufficient clear and convincing evidence. The prosecution requests acquittal for the converting, testing, selling, and transferring of weapons. However, the man is prosecuted for possessing converted gas pistols, and for that, he must be punished according to the prosecutor.
Disastrous consequences
“It is clear that the use of firearms brings unacceptable safety risks. The suspect knows that, but nevertheless sold a firearm to someone he did not know,” said the public prosecutor during the hearing. “This case illustrates in a striking way how easy it is to acquire a weapon (namely via Snapchat) and what disastrous consequences that can have for innocent people. The suspect seems unconcerned about that.”