Syrian asylum seeker Mohamed K., who stole stuffed animals from the memorial site of two dead children, Jeffrey and Emma, is now also suspected of a stabbing attack in the Dutch city of Winschoten.
Of the eight suspects in the violent conflict in Winschoten at the beginning of this month, two are still in custody. One of them is the 21-year-old Syrian, who sparked outrage in the Netherlands when he dishonored the memorial site of the murdered children Jeffrey and Emma. A video of the horrific moment was captured on video and went viral.
🇳🇱‼️ Absolutely disgusting video from the Netherlands.
Migrant youths steal stuffed animals from a memorial created to pay tribute to Jeffrey and Emma, two children who died.
Not even dead children's memorials are safe.pic.twitter.com/N7tC680zxJ
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) May 26, 2025In the latest incident, three people were injured with stab wounds during an intense clash in the Lekstraat in Winschoten a week ago.
Police deployed at least four vehicles in response to the mass brawl and stabbing attack. In addition to 21-year-old Mohamed K., who officially lives in Leeuwarden but often stays with his parents in Winschoten, seven more people were arrested from Winschoten, Leeuwarden and Oude Pekela. Among them are the three injured, including one minor.
Besides Mohamed K., only a 52-year-old man from Winschoten is in jail. A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service does not want to say what this person is suspected of, while the others have been released, according to Dutch news outlet De Telegraaf.
In May last year, Mohamed K. stole stuffed animals from the memorial site of the murdered 10-year-old Jeffrey and 8-year-old Emma with two Syrian companions from the asylum seeker center in Winschoten. The young victims’ father, from Beerta, had deliberately driven himself and his two children into the canal with both of them in the car in Winschoten, killing all three victims.
Flowers and cuddly toys were left on the quay in Winschoten where the all three lost their lives. When the children went missing, it made national news, and hundreds of officers and volunteers searched for the victims. When the public learned what happened, there was an outpouring of sympathy for the murdered children, and the site of the tragedy became a large memorial for the two victims.
However, Mohamed K. filmed himself picking up stuffed animals and tossing them with the other two thieves. They stuffed many of the stuffed animals in their vehicle and uploaded the video to Snapchat.
In the Snapchat footage published online, the suspects can be heard urging each other to hurry while laughing and making light of the children’s deaths. “Take this one, bro. Quick,” one says. “They are dead and we are working here,” another adds, as cheering can be heard in the background.
The horrific theft sparked public outrage.
“This video has had a huge emotional impact,” police said in a statement at the time, urging the public not to take matters into their own hands and to share any information directly with authorities. Mayor Cora-Yfke Sikkema of Oldambt echoed that appeal, saying, “We all saw the sad images of people removing cuddles from the quay. That makes us all very sad.”
As reported by Algemeen Dagblad, the family of the victims described the theft as “horrible,” with a spokesperson for a support group adding, “They can’t imagine what possessed the young people. They hope that people treat each other and the memorial site with respect.”
Mohamed K. and the other three suspects were sentenced to community service for their actions. However, now Mohamed K. may be facing more serious charges for his role in the latest stabbing attack.
