Pepper spray hits two Amsterdam Dance Event parties, thefts reported

Pepper spray was used at two parties during the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) in the night from Friday to Saturday: Audio Obscura at the G-Star RawFactory and Elrow at the Kromhouthal. Criminals tried to create unrest and rob people with it.

ADE has parties at 300 locations across the city this weekend. Pepper spray was also used on Thursday evening at the end of a Loveland party during ADE, and several times at ADE last year. Spraying in clubs and at festivals is becoming more common. It also happened this summer at Lowlands.

At Audio Obscura, in the G-Star RawFactory car park, the spray was used around 1:00 during a DJ changeover. Organisers switched on the lights and stopped the music. Some guests were treated by first aiders. The hall was fully aired after ten minutes and the party continued.

Two young women told the organisers they were sprayed in the face. Around the same time, two young men were robbed of their necklaces. Security could not find out who was behind it, so the police have made no arrests.

Visitors at Elrow in the Kromhouthal also suffered from pepper spray, and one person says a necklace was stolen.

Jeroen Fontein, founder of Audio Obscura, said: “They had planned it well.” According to him, the criminals stood to the left of the DJ booth, next to the fans for the smoke machine, and the spray spread through the hall that way. He said they use the spray to create chaos and rob guests unseen, and that security can barely stop it.