The mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, has banned free, large-scale dance parties in his city for the next two years. No decision has yet been taken on whether this decision will also apply to events already scheduled to take place.

The decision was prompted by the violence at a dance party in Hook of Holland on Saturday, during which guns were fired and a 19-year-old man was shot dead. Six other people were injured.

In a letter to the city council, Mr Aboutaleb said there were around 12 separate shooting incidents at the event. Sources within the police force have suggested that the police themselves may have been the only ones firing guns at the party.

A film clip on YouTube shows four men drawing weapons. Witnesses claim they were plain-clothes policemen who felt threatened when they were identified as such by a large group of partygoers including football hooligans. Allegedly they fired shots into the air first and later aimed at specific people.
 
A spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor's Office says this version of the story is known and will be included in the ongoing investigation. However, there is also evidence that other people fired first.
 
Meanwhile the chairman of the local council, Paddy Roomer, has announced in a radio interview that Hook of Holland will not be issuing permits for any more large-scale beach parties. "I have to take responsibility and say: this will never happen again."

Mr Aboutaleb has also announced an investigation into the increasing violence at music events and football matches and said he wants to cooperate in this with the Ministry of the Interior and the country’s biggest cities.

Photo of police in action by ANP

Photo of aftermath of party by mr-pi (Flickr)

Photo of Ahmed Aboutaleb from Wikimedia Commons