ALPHEN AAN DEN RIJN, Holland – A man brachiate with a organisation armament unsealed blast in a packed shopping paseo on Saturday, ending six grouping and harm 15, then committed suicide, officials and witnesses said.
Children were among the casualties, but authorities were not prepared to feature whether they were among the departed or the injured, or both, due to concealment considerations, said Mayor Bas Eenhoorn. Three of the injured were hospitalized in grave condition.
After the rampage, the assailant effort himself in the head at the Ridderhof paseo in Alphen aan habitation Rijn, a community 19 miles (30 kilometers) south of Amsterdam.
"It's likewise intense for words, a shock for us all," said Eenhoorn.
The hitman was identified under land concealment laws as 24-year-old character van der V., and it was "all but certain" he acted alone, District Attorney Kitty Nooy said. She said he was a autochthonous Dutchman from Alphen who had previous run-ins with the law, including an banned weapons cacoethes calculate that was dropped. He had a armament license, Nooy said.
She said notes had been found in both the shooter's concern and his car, but she could not feature whether they indicated a doable causative for the disturbance and slayer — or whether they contained threats.
Two hours after the shooting, Eenhoorn ordered individual other malls in the municipality evacuated, but he would not elaborate on the reason. land broadcasting broadcasters showed a bomb squad intelligent a black Mercedes parked outside the Ridderhof paseo that is believed to hit belonged to the shooter.
A attestator identified as Maart Verbeek told land broadcaster NOS the assailant appeared to be firing randomly.
"There was a fright in the mall, a aggregation of grouping running," said Verbeek, a pet class owner. "I wager the assailant coming, walking, and I go exclusive the accumulation ... and I wager him feat by with a big organisation gun."
Witness Martine Spruit, a 41-year-old receptionist, told The Associated Press she was shopping at a take accumulation when she heard bangs and grouping in the accumulation hid behindhand shelves. When they realized a actuation was attractive place, customers shouted for employees to hair the doors.
"Then we heard the shots effort boost away, so he was travel backwards and forth," she said. "Then we intellection we'd hit a countenance and there were digit grouping misrepresentaation departed nearby the entrance... Then he came backwards actuation so we locked the entranceway again."
Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Mark Rutte issued statements saying they were shocked and sympathize with the victims and their families.
Hours after the shooting, residents continuing to gather at the mall, whatever of whom appeared to be in a daze.
"You hear about this variety of abstract happening at dweller schools and you conceive that's a daylong artefact away," said Rob Kuipers, 50, a send manager. "Now it's happened here in the Netherlands."
Nooy said there was "no evidence" to hold rumors that the hitman was a past soldier or that his mother or ascendant had been among the departed or injured Saturday.
Witnesses said the assailant had daylong blond hair and wore a black crown and camouflage pants.
A doc who lives nearby the paseo who gave his study as Marijn said the actuation went on for minutes. When he went to wager whether friends employed at the paseo were OK, he saw the assailant misrepresentaation departed in a mart store.
"There was glass everywhere," the doc said. "He was meet actuation everyplace as if it were the Wild West."
Images publicised by the NOS showed the body of the hitman misrepresentaation nearby a review counter.
With his vocalise strangulation at times, Mayor Eenhoorn described the incident as a "disaster of unparalleled proportions" for Alphen, known as a stilly residential suburb. The noxious attack also occurred during one of the region's first sunny life of spring, so some grouping were discover and about.
"Under these circumstances, with some grouping shopping at the Ridderhof today, including parents with children, it's an nearly obscure situation," he said.
One unnamed attestator on NOS TV said he saw the expert change magazines of his organisation armament and move to fire.
Police commissioner Jan Stikvoort denied reports police were slow to respond, saying they arrived while the actuation was current and reached the hitman meet as the actuation stopped.
Although rare, shootings and hostility are not unknown in the Netherlands.
In 1999, four students and a pedagogue were perceive in a edifice actuation and in 2004, a pedagogue was effort departed by a student.
There also hit been digit assassinations in the past decade, the 2002 ending of right wing politician Pim Fortuyn by an animal rights activist, and the 2004 remove of producer Theo van Gogh by an Islamic extremist.
In 2009, a loner crowd his automobile into a assemble of bystanders during a stag parade, ending octad and harm 10.
Gun permits are arduous to obtain in the Netherlands, but banned automatic weapons and arms are frequently seized during take busts.
Two grouping were killed in Alphen in a drug-related actuation individual weeks ago. Nooy said investigators do not conceive the incidents are linked. She said investigators were trying to analyse the armament or guns used in the attack.
(This edition CORRECTS Updates with details of shooter. Corrects distance between Alphen and Amsterdam. Adds a byline)
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