Three people were being treated in hospital in Rotterdam on Saturday after they were seriously injured when Dutch police fired shots during a violent protest against COVID-19 measures, authorities said.
Crowds of several hundred rioters torched cars, set off fireworks and threw rocks at police during the protests on Friday evening. Police responded with warning shots and water cannons.
Rotterdam police posted on Twitter on Saturday that 51 people had been arrested, half of whom were under 18.
“Three rioters were wounded when they were hit by bullets, they remain in hospital,” police added, in an update after earlier reporting two wounded.
Authorities are investigating the shootings including whether the wounded people were hit by police bullets, they added.
The city’s mayor, Ahmed Aboutaleb, said the protest had turned into “an orgy of violence.”
“Police were forced to draw their weapons and even fire direct shots,” he told a news conference early on Saturday.
Dutch Justice Minister Ferd Grapperhaus said in a statement the “extreme violence” against police and firefighters in Rotterdam was “repulsive.”
Reuters.