Three people were killed in two armed attacks in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam. A 14-year-old girl died from her injuries this evening, police said. A 32-year-old student initially shot the girl’s 39-year-old mother in an apartment. Shortly afterwards, he killed a 46-year-old professor at the university clinic.
Police Chief Fred Westerbeke said the man was arrested and the firearm was seized. This was seen as a “targeted act”, but the motive was still unclear, they said. According to witness statements, the man in military combat clothing shot people with a firearm in a classroom at Rotterdam University Hospital, fatally striking the 46-year-old man.
The suspect, himself a student at Erasmus University, also allegedly set fire to the clinic. The fire is also believed to have occurred in the apartment, but both fires were brought under control. However, several departments in the hospital were evacuated. Doctors, nursing staff and patients had to leave the clinic.
The police were mobilized with helicopters and special forces. Armed units searched the clinic and arrested the man. How the two incidents are related is still being investigated; the reason was not yet available.