Gunman kills five at Dutch mall

Attacker opened fire with machine gun before shooting himself in crowded mall in suburb of Alphen aan den Rijn near Amsterdam At least five people have died at a shopping centre outside Amsterdam after a gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon before killing himself. There were also at least 11 people wounded during the attack at the Ridderhof mall in the suburb of Alphen aan den Rijn, 15 miles (25km) southwest of Amsterdam. A witness identified as Maart Verbeek told the Dutch state broadcaster, NOS, that the attacker had a machine gun and that he had seen at least five people he believed were dead and many more wounded. “There was a panic in the mall, a lot of people running,” said Verbeek, a pet shop owner. “I see the attacker coming, walking, and I go inside the store … and I see him going by with a big machine gun.” NOS cited witnesses as saying the man later shot himself in the head with a second weapon, a pistol. The gunman was described as a 25-year-old white male with blonde hair who wearing a leather jacket and camouflage pants. “You hear about this sort of thing happening at American schools and you think that’s a long way away,” said Rob Kuipers, 50, a project manager. “Now it’s happened here in the Netherlands.” Four of the wounded are in critical condition, five were in serious condition and at least two others were slightly wounded, Mayor Bas Eenhoorn later told reporters. He described the incident as a “disaster of unparalleled proportions” for Alphen, known as a quiet suburb. “Under these circumstances, with many people shopping at the Ridderhof today, including parents with children, it’s an incomprehensible situation,” he said. Netherlands Europe Ben Quinn guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 9, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.