YouTube prank caller’s channel goes offline after prank call linked to fatal shooting
The YouTube channel of prank caller Rouand Saadoen has gone offline after he admitted involvement in a hoax phone call that prosecutors say helped lead to a fatal shooting in Piet Wiedijkpark in Osdorp, Amsterdam Nieuw-West, where two Syrian teenage boys were killed on New Year’s Day.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) also said it has indications that a relative of suspect Efe Y. contacted the prank caller on the night of the shooting and instructed him to call Y. with a fabricated “gangster story,” a development that prosecutors say is part of their ongoing investigation.
The removal of Saadoen’s channel followed his recent admission that he made the prank call that may have drawn Y. to the park. His lawyer, Gerald Roethof, said Saadoen had earlier denied involvement based on incorrect information about the timing of the call. “Yesterday, partly due to uncertainty for him regarding the date, my client recorded a video as a first reaction in which he denies the prank. Upon further analysis of the information now known to my client, he must retract this denial. My client regrets the confusion that has arisen,” Roethof said in comments to RTL Nieuws.
The channel’s website now displays a message that the page is unavailable. Roethof said Saadoen “wanted some rest,” but it remains unclear whether the page was removed by YouTube or by Saadoen himself. The lawyer said clarification would follow later Saturday.
Saadoen runs a prank call channel where viewers can pay to have calls made with specific instructions, often involving deception. According to the OM, the calls can become “quite extreme.”
Prosecutors say suspect Efe Y., 25, was lured to a blue bridge in Piet Wiedijkpark on the evening of Jan. 1 by a prank call and immediately opened fire on three Syrian boys, aged 16, 17, and 18. The 16- and 18-year-olds were killed; the 17-year-old survived. Authorities say there was no confrontation or escalation before the shooting, and the victims appeared to have been selected at random.
The two teenagers who died were living in separate asylum seeker centers and were, according to prosecutors, “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Y. was previously placed under a compulsory care order in May 2025 due to a serious mental health condition. His lawyer said he had stopped taking medication. He is expected to be admitted to the Pieter Baan Centre for psychiatric evaluation and has agreed to cooperate, though he has not entered a plea. The suspect was not present in court.
In a separate account cited by investigators, a witness said Y. admitted on Jan. 2 to shooting at people in the park, saying it was because people were still outside late at night. The weapon has not been recovered. Y. was arrested on Jan. 27.
The OM says the investigation is continuing and more witnesses will be heard. The next preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 8.
Legal experts note that prank calls are not inherently illegal in the Netherlands. However, liability would depend on whether it can be proven that a caller knowingly created a concrete and foreseeable dangerous situation.
