Haydar Zengin (37) shot dead at his desk on Derkinderenstraat in a case of mistaken identity

Haydar Zengin (37) worked as an administrative employee at a construction company on Derkinderenstraat in Slotervaart. He was born in Kırşehir in Turkey, was divorced, had two daughters and had recently begun a new relationship. He was a member of the Amsterdam branch of the Turkish governing party AK Parti and was openly opposed to the Kurdish PKK. On Thursday 15 October 2015 he was shot dead at his desk in the office. At first it was thought his political views might be the motive, but that changed when shots were fired in the same building again on 11 November 2015, at a quarter to five in the afternoon. This time Zeynel Er, the owner of the construction company, was seriously wounded. According to witnesses the gunman was a white, blond man of about 1.70 metres. Police suspected the same man had also shot Zengin. Zengin had probably had the misfortune of being moved to a different desk a few weeks before his death: Zeynel Er's. That it really had been a case of mistaken identity became painfully clear on 14 June 2016, when Zeynel Er was killed after all. On the basis of statements from three witnesses who had seen the presumed killer clearly, three composite sketches were produced: a man of 1.75 to 1.80 metres, white to very lightly tinted, with light stubble and a dark hat. Prosecutors offered a reward of 35,000 euros. The case remained unsolved.