Several people were hit by gunfire this Thursday, September 28, in the city in the west of the Netherlands. A gunman shot at an apartment and then at a medical center before being arrested.
Chaos in the streets of Rotterdam. Two people were killed and a young girl was seriously injured in a double shooting this Thursday, September 28th, in the second largest city in the Netherlands. A gunman first opened fire in an apartment in the Dutch city on Heiman Dullaertplein and then stormed into a nearby medical center, the Erasmus Hospital.
The 32-year-old suspect was arrested, but the motive for the attack is currently unknown, local police said. According to police, the shooter was known to authorities for animal abuse and was a student in the hospital. According to the public prosecutor’s office, he is cooperating with investigators.
Numerous police forces were mobilized during the afternoon. Several special forces entered the hospital where the suspect was hiding. Eventually, the 32-year-old man was arrested by police with a pistol near the hospital’s helipad. He offered no resistance.
Hospital fire now under control
According to Dutch media, police do not believe there is a second shooter. Earlier in the day, authorities gave a description of the suspect: He was wearing “combat fatigues” and khaki pants. Authorities also said he was tall, had dark hair and was carrying a backpack.
According to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, it all started with shots fired in a house in the Delfshaven district. Two people were shot there. After this first shooting, the suspect went to the Erasme University Hospital Center, about a kilometer away. A second shooting occurred in a medical school classroom, in which a teacher was shot.
Each time he also set fires, which caused panic. Videos published on social networks show a huge catastrophe. According to the authorities, the fire is now under control.
Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said he was following all developments surrounding the investigation very closely and expressed his condolences for the victims.
To update : at 7:26 p.m., with the two dead and the seriously injured.