Project X Haren damage still being assessed, more arrests expected

It may be two more weeks before the full extent of the damage caused by rampaging youths in the commuter town of Haren near Groningen has been calculated, according to media reports on Monday.


So far 35 people have been arrested after the Project X Haren viral party generated into a riot as a ‘small group of youths’ went on the rampage on Friday evening.
Police expect more people to report damage to their property on Monday – at least 25 people have already done so, Nos television said.
Several thousand youngsters turned up in the village of 18,000 people on Friday evening after a girl’s 16th birthday party, announced on Facebook, went viral and became a mass hype.
Plundered
The smart Groningen commuter suburb was left littered with bottles and cans, cars were set on fire and a local supermarket plundered by the mob.
Police are now collecting film and video material in an effort to identify other troublemakers.
Justice minister Ivo Opstelten told Nos radio the riots were ‘completely unacceptable’ and that the troublemakers should be made to pay for the damage.
Meanwhile, Germany’s consumer affairs minister Ilse Aigne has said she thinks Facebook itself is partly responsible for the trouble. She wants the social media company to change its privacy settings to stop private invitations going public.
Germany has had at least two viral party incidents. In June, 22,500 people attended a ‘Facebookparty’ in Backnang, while a similar gathering took place in Konstanz in July, Nos said.
Earlier stories
34 arrests after Haren viral party degenerates into a riot
Haren braces itself for Project X party
There is no party, Haren police tell Facebook users
How could the trouble have been prevented? Have your say using the comment box below

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