Indianapolis shooting: Why were the Dutch commandos in the United States?

Gun violence in the United States reached another level on Friday when three off-duty Dutch commandos were left bleeding and wounded outside an Indianapolis hotel. According to a statement by the Dutch defense ministry, the personnel were residing at the Hampton Inn, a hotel in Indianapolis, outside of which they were shot and later found.

The shooting happened at around 3:30 am ET outside Hampton Inn, a hotel in the entertainment district of Indianapolis. Local authorities found the Dutch commandos outside the hotel and transported them to area hospitals soon after.

Also Read: Where is the Hampton Inn, Indianapolis?

One of the three commandos was in critical condition, according to the statement by the Dutch ministry. Their statement also mentioned that the Indianapolis police were investigating Friday’s shooting incident, however, are yet to make arrests.

The statement also revealed that the Dutch commandos were visiting the United States to participate in training exercises. They also said that the families of the victims have been notified of the incident.

Pentagon officials referred the matter to local authorities when asked about what the Dutch commandos were doing in the United States. Later, the Indiana National Guard stated the injured foreign soldiers and said that they were training at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, which is around 40 miles southeast of Indianapolis. The National Guard also added that the training facility is used by the Department of Defense and “other allies”.

“The Dutch soldiers visited Indianapolis at the end of their duty day. Our thoughts and prayers are with the soldiers and families during this difficult time,” the Indiana National Guard said.

Also Read: Dutch commandos shot and wounded outside Indianapolis hotel

The Netherlands are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and one of the United States’ biggest allies in Europe. The two countries have a long history of conducting defense exercises, some of which took place in the ongoing year itself.

The Cold Response 2022 and Baltops 22 are NATO defense exercises that were conducted in May and June of this year. Both exercises contained security forces from both United States and the Netherlands along with several other NATO member countries.