Netherlands: altercation after snowball throwing leaves one dead, two teenagers arrested

This Thursday, Dutch police arrested two teenagers as part of an investigation into the death of a 60-year-old man, apparently the victim of an attack following an altercation over snowballs. Emergency services, arriving urgently in Schiedam, near Rotterdam, were unable to resuscitate the victim, who died on Monday.

Police identified the two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, using CCTV footage and are questioning them to determine their possible role. “A fight broke out after snowballs were thrown, and blows were exchanged,” Dutch police said in a statement.

“The investigation is continuing to determine precisely what happened and what was said,” she added.

Snowballs thrown at cars?

According to local media Rijnmond, police believe the youths were throwing snowballs at passing cars. The victim then made remarks on this subject and received blows, again according to Rijnmond.

Like much of Western Europe, the Netherlands is facing winter conditions that have blanketed the country in a thick blanket of snow, causing significant transport disruptions.