The police officer who shot dead a 17-year-old youth on a platform at Hollands Spoor railway station last year told a court in The Hague he was ‘terrified’.

The officer, who is facing murder charges, told the court he saw Rishi Chandrikasing reach for a black object with his right hand and thought it was a gun. Surveillance cameras do show an object in the youth’s hand but it is unclear what it is, news agency ANP said. The youth was unarmed.

Chandrikasing was shot in the early hours of the morning in November last year. Police had been told an armed man had been seen in the station and had threatened an English man who was sleeping in the waiting room.

Neck

The official investigation into the killing found the officer whose shot killed the youth was not standing in the proper position when he fired. Camera pictures show the officer was running when he fired his gun, hitting the teenager in the neck.

The police officer involved in the shooting is facing murder charges. The public prosecution department decided at the weekend to add murder to the charge sheet after the family said manslaughter was not enough.

However, prosecutor Wouter Bos said he did not consider the officer had planned to kill the boy and that he would call on the court to find the officer not guilty of murder.