UPDATE 3 - Man carrying machine gun opens fire at Dutch shopping mall, 5 reported dead

[News_Editor]

UPDATE 3 - Man carrying machine gun opens fire at Dutch shopping mall, 5 reported dead

2011-04-09 18:31:32 GMT+7 (ICT)

ALPHEN AAN DEN RIJN, NETHERLANDS (BNO NEWS) -- A gunman opened fire inside a shopping mall in the Netherlands on early Saturday afternoon, police said, while witnesses told local media that at least 5 people had been killed.

The shooting happened at around noon local time at shopping mall Ridderhof in the town of Alphen aan de Rijn, located in the western part of the country. Local media reports said a man carrying a machine gun had opened fire at crowds inside.

A resident near the scene told Radio West that two bodies could be seen laying on the ground near the shopping center, while more bodies were believed to be inside. Public broadcaster NOS cited a shop owner as saying that at least 5 people had been killed.

An unknown number of people were also taken to area hospitals, where Radio West described "complete chaos." Their conditions were not immediately known, and a police spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on the situation.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-04-09

[LaoPo]

Netherlands shooting 'kills six'

9 April 2011 Last updated at 13:01 GMT

At least six people have been killed and several others wounded when a gunman opened fire in the Netherlands town of Alphen aan den Rijn, Dutch media say.

Another 16 people were wounded in the shootings at a shopping centre in the town, 21km (13 miles) south-west of Amsterdam.

It is not clear what prompted the shooting.

One witness said the attacker had a machine gun. A local government statement said he was also dead.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...europe-13024785

NOTE:

6 people are confirmed dead; amongst them the shooter; around 16 people are wounded, amongst them several very seriously.

The shooter was dressed in a Bomberjacket, carrying an automatic weapon/machine gun; he was shooting inside a big grocery shop of Albert Heijn near the cashiers ; later he shot himself through the head with another weapon.

This happened on Saturday around noon, local time, in a small (outdoor) shopping center; the weather was beautiful and sunny and it was very busy with many people shopping.

The shooter was described as a ca. 25 year old blonde male.

LaoPo

[EnSvenskTiger]

What kind of deranged lunatic could do such a thing. The report seems very short on details, I wonder what the motive could have been?

Tiger

[LaoPo]

What kind of deranged lunatic could do such a thing. The report seems very short on details, I wonder what the motive could have been?

Tiger

It only happened less than 6 hours ago and everybody is in shock. The police now says that they are almost sure who the man was but do not want to give details yet since they are busy informing the families of the dead and wounded victims.

Amongst the dead/wounded are also children but no details yet.

The shooter, who committed suicide, was almost certainly not a foreigner nor immigrant but a native Dutchman but the police is careful with giving out information and want to be absolutely sure about each and every detail, also because children are involved.

There's no information yet about the motive of the shooter.

LaoPo

[LaoPo]

A 6th victim of the shooting died in hospital; therefore 7 people died, including the shooter who committed suicide.

Some very seriously wounded are still in hospital.

The shooter appeared to be the 24 year old Tristan van der Vlis.

He had a license for 5 weapons but had 3 and was a member of a shooting club.

He was wearing a white T-shirt with a black so called Bomber Jacker and camouflage trousers like soldiers wear although he has no military background.

It is not known yet if one or more of the weapons he had a license for were used at the shooting.

Tristan van der Vlis lived with his father in an appartment building a mere 150 meters away from the shopping center.

His mother found a goodbye letter in her appartment but no details have been reported so there's no news about the motives of the killer.

In the car he came with to the shopping center the police found a note telling that explosives were hidden in another 3 shopping malls in the same city, Alphen aan de Rijn, and the mayor + police decided to immediately evacuate those 3 malls.

No explosives were found so far though.

LaoPo

Edited April 9, 2011 by LaoPo

[sbk]

This is terrible, since he left a letter with his mother presumably whatever insane reason he had is listed there.

[koheesti]

I expect this type of thing (mass murder by a nut with a gun) to happen in my home country but I get more saddened when I hear it happens someplace like Holland. It's like one less safe place on the planet.