Former footballer Jergé Hoefdraad (35) shot at illegal party on Stekkenbergweg, Zuidoost

Former professional footballer Jergé Hoefdraad was shot during a party in Amsterdam-Zuidoost in the early hours of 1 August 2021. The party was taking place in a business premises on the Stekkenbergweg, where a conflict broke out inside. Hoefdraad, who was 35 years old, appears to have tried to intervene or calm the situation down. He was not described as the intended target, but as someone who became involved while trying to stop the argument. During the chaos, a firearm was used and Hoefdraad was shot in the head. He was taken to hospital in critical condition, but died from his injuries on 3 August 2021. His death caused a lot of shock, partly because he was known in Dutch football. He had played professionally for clubs including RKC Waalwijk, Almere City, Telstar and SC Cambuur, and he was later active at amateur level. At the time of his death, he was connected to football in Amsterdam and was expected to play for De Volewijckers. The case was seen as especially tragic because there was no clear indication that Hoefdraad himself was the person who was meant to be shot. In the reporting, the shooting was described as a senseless act of violence in which Hoefdraad lost his life after stepping into a conflict that was not really his own. The main suspect in the case was Robin R. He fled after the shooting and was later arrested in Belgium. During the criminal proceedings, he admitted that he had been responsible for the shot, but he denied that he had deliberately killed Hoefdraad. His version was that the situation had become chaotic and that the gun had gone off during a struggle or confrontation. The prosecution took the case more seriously and argued that he had fired with a semi-automatic weapon. The public prosecutor demanded eight years in prison for manslaughter and illegal possession of a firearm. In the end, the court did not fully follow the prosecution. The court ruled that it could not be legally proven that Robin R. had intentionally killed Jergé Hoefdraad. That meant he was not convicted as someone who had deliberately set out to murder him. However, the court did find that Robin R. had acted in an extremely reckless and irresponsible way. He had involved himself in a fight while carrying a loaded firearm, with his finger close to the trigger. Two shots were fired, and one of those bullets hit Hoefdraad in the head. Because of that, Robin R. was held criminally responsible for Hoefdraad’s death. The final outcome was that Robin R. was sentenced to four years in prison. The sentence was lower than the eight years demanded by the prosecution because the court did not consider intentional killing proven. Still, the court made clear that his behaviour had directly led to the death of Jergé Hoefdraad. In short, the case ended with a conviction, but not for murder. Hoefdraad’s death was treated by the court as the fatal result of reckless firearm use during a fight, rather than a planned or intentional killing.