YouTuber’s ‘prank call’ led suspect to fatally shoot Syrian teen bystanders: Prosecutors

The two teenagers who were shot dead in a park in Amsterdam on New Year’s Day were, according to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), “in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Prosecutors say suspect Efe Y.,25, shot the victims without delay that evening. The OM says the suspect was directed to a blue bridge in Piet Wiedijkpark in Amsterdam Nieuw-West by a so-called “prank caller,” a person making a hoax phone call.

During the initial court hearing, the prosecutor stated that there was no opportunity for any confrontation or escalation before the shooting occurred. Upon arriving, he allegedly opened fire on three boys aged 16, 17, and 18. Only the 17-year-old survived. The two teenagers who died were Syrian nationals living in separate asylum seeker centres.

The court granted the suspect a compulsory care order in May 2025 because of a serious mental health condition. The suspect said he had stopped taking his medication for some time, according to his lawyer. Y. is expected to be admitted shortly to the Pieter Baan Centre for psychiatric observation and has agreed to cooperate with the process. He has not yet made any statements regarding the charges against him.

The alleged prank caller who contacted Y. on the night of the deadly shooting is a YouTuber running a “prank call” channel. Viewers can pay him to place calls with specific instructions, often involving deceiving or embarrassing the person on the other end. The OM says these calls can become “quite extreme” in nature.

According to the OM, there are signs that a relative of Y. contacted the prank caller on the night in question, instructing him to phone Y. with a made-up “gangster story.”

The suspect had been staying only a few hundred meters from the park, at his grandmother’s home. According to a witness, Y. approached him on January 2 and admitted to shooting at people in the park, saying it was because people were still there late at night. The weapon allegedly used has not been recovered. Y. was arrested on January 27.

The OM says the investigation is ongoing and that multiple witnesses still need to be interviewed.

Y.’s lawyer stated that it has not been established that his client is the shooter, and argued that alternative scenarios should still be explored.

The suspect was not present in the courtroom. The next preliminary hearing will take place on July 8.