Police arrest Amsterdam man over car fires in Almelo
A 43-year-old man from Amsterdam was arrested after four cars were set on fire in Almelo late on Saturday evening, police said.
Police have arrested a 43-year-old man from Amsterdam who may have been involved in one or more of the car fires in Almelo on Saturday evening.
Four cars were set on fire within a short time late on Saturday. The fires broke out on the M.Th. Steynstraat, the Bornerbroeksestraat, the Platanenstraat and the J.B. van Loghemstraat.
Police tracked the man down "through a clear description".
Earlier, police had used Burgernet, the alert service through which they contact residents, to ask people in the Almelo area to be alert to the fires and to share any information with them. Half an hour after that message, police thanked residents "for watching out and sharing the information".
Whether the four fires are connected is still unclear.
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Burgernet
Burgernet is the Dutch neighbourhood alert network run by the police, in which registered residents receive messages asking them to watch out for something, look for a suspect or share information. Participants sign up voluntarily and receive alerts by text message, email or app for their own area. It matters because police use it to reach local people quickly during an investigation or incident.