According to initial police information, three people were shot dead in two shootings in the Dutch city of Rotterdam this Thursday. The first incident occurred at a house in the port city, the other at the nearby Erasmus University Hospital. Officers suspect a connection between the two cases and have arrested a 32-year-old man. Shortly after the attack, law enforcement said there was a suspect they described as “a male with long black hair who may have escaped on a motorcycle.” He was wearing combat clothing. After a while, the police entered the medical center to make sure the person was not inside.
The deceased were a 39-year-old woman, her 14-year-old daughter and a 46-year-old man, the latter a professor at the university hospital. According to police, the suspect is a student at this health facility who was convicted of animal cruelty in 2021, as police and public prosecutors reported at a joint appearance.
The suspect first killed the woman and shot the teenager in the house, setting a fire there. The girl was seriously injured and died a few hours later. He then went to the hospital, entered one of the classes and shot the teacher. It caused another fire shortly afterwards. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a gun. The police say that he acted alone and, among other things, state that he was rejected for an internship. “This is a possibility that we are considering,” said the mayor of Rotterdam, the social democrat Ahmed Aboutaleb.
Patient evacuation
Amid the excitement, hospital staff and patients were at least partially evacuated, according to Dutch news agency ANP. Residents have come out in groups, some with their hands raised. Others once started running on the street. Police believe the arrested man is suspected of being involved in both shootings. In addition to the shooting, there was a fire in the hospital, the responsibility of which is attributed to the arrested man.
Special police forces immediately went to the hospital and found that he had escaped through the back of the building. They intercepted him there. The medical center appealed to citizens not to approach the scene of the accident. Another fire was extinguished in the building where the first attack occurred.
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Police have asked eyewitnesses to upload the images they may have taken on their mobile phones to the official police website. “We need your help with the investigation,” they said.
Image of the building where the first shooting in the Rotterdam attack took place (Netherlands). Marco van der Caaij (EFE)
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