A teenager who shot a refugee as he was cycling past on his bike has been jailed for two years, the maximum sentence for a juvenile in the Netherlands.

The youth shot his victim, a 15-year-old Saudi Arabian boy, in the back while he was playing with a friend in the street in Oss, Noord-Brabant.

The shooter fled the scene, but was later arrested when his mother recognised him on the TV crime show Opsporing Verzocht. His victim, who was living in refugee accommodation in the town, was seriously injured but survived his injuries.

The incident happened in the Kardinaal de Jongstraat on October 15 last year, at around 10pm. The youth exercised his right to silence when asked in court what the motive was for the attack.

The judge in Den Bosch found the shooter guilty of attempted murder, noting that he had “shot a 15-year-old boy in cold blood”.

The court was told that the youth had bought the weapon a few weeks earlier. “He consciously went out cycling in Oss with a loaded weapon in search of a random victim,” the judge said.

“He tried to take the life of someone of his own age by shooting him in the street without provocation. The victim only just survived the attack.”

The youth, now 17, from Heerhugowaard was also subjected to a PIJ order, the juvenile equivalent of the tbs system of psychiatric treatment, to reduce the risk of reoffending.