Gunman goes on deadly shooting spree in EU city
A 32-year-old medical student has been apprehended by Rotterdam police after allegedly gunning down three people at an apartment and a downtown hospital, marking one of the deadliest shooting incidents in a country where such violence is uncommon.
The shooting spree began on Thursday afternoon at an apartment building near the suspect’s residence, where he shot a 39-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter, police said. The woman died at the scene, while the girl passed away after being rushed to a hospital.
The gunman, who wore a bulletproof vest and combat fatigues, then shot and killed a 43-year-old professor in a classroom at the Erasmus Medical Center, where he was a student, Rotterdam Police Chief Fred Westerbeke told reporters. The shooter then allegedly set fires at both crime scenes and was eventually captured by police under the hospital’s helipad. Police have neither identified the suspect nor have they speculated on his motive.
“We see his act as a targeted action, but it requires further research to gain clarity about how and why,” Westerbeke said. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte posted a statement saying there was “great dismay after the dramatic events in Rotterdam.” Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb called the turn of events “a black day.”
Hoy en Rotterdam, Holanda 🇳🇱: Un hombre armado mató el en dos lugares distintos al menos a dos personas, una mujer de 39 años y un profesor de 42 de la Universidad Erasmus, en dos lugares, dijo el jefe de la policía local, Fred Westerbeke, en una conferencia de prensa.La hija… pic.twitter.com/QvJeHlhceZ
— The 230 fence (@the230fence) September 28, 2023
The shootings led to chaotic scenes in the Dutch port city, including people fleeing the hospital and wheeling patients out of the building on beds while others barricaded themselves inside. Footage posted on social media shows people running and screaming at the sound of a loud bang. Another clip shows a man – possibly the suspect – apparently being detained by police with his hands cuffed behind his back and a blindfold placed over his eyes.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima issued a statement expressing sympathy for family members and friends of the shooting victims. “We also think of everybody who lived in fear during these terrible actions,” they said.
A shooting last year at a Dutch day care center for disabled children left two people dead and two injured. In 2011, a gunman murdered five people and wounded 17 before killing himself at a mall south of Amsterdam.
