The Netherlands Port city in fear - Rotterdam shooter caught
Two weeks of fear in Rotterdam and the hunt for an indiscriminate killer have come to an end. After three deadly shooting attacks, police in the Dutch port city have arrested a 24-year-old man who they believe is responsible for all of the crimes. "It was a nightmare for all the inhabitants of Rotterdam because someone was running around looking for victims indiscriminately," said public prosecutor Hugo Hillenaar after the night-time arrest of the suspected perpetrator.
03.01.2025, 12:05
03.01.2025, 16:12
SDA
After the sigh of relief, however, the search for the still unknown motive remains for the investigators. "We have not yet found a connection between the victims," said the public prosecutor. The arrested man has not yet made any statement about his motives. The police had been searching day and night for the unknown man, who last shot an 81-year-old man on his way back to his apartment on Thursday morning; a neighbor found the pensioner lying in a flower bed.
Shooter always killed in the same neighborhood
In the previous two weeks, a 58-year-old and a 63-year-old from Rotterdam were shot and fatally injured by the unknown man in the street, both in a remote location and, like the 81-year-old, in the IJsselmonde district. "It quickly became clear that it was probably the same shooter," said Rotterdam police chief Fred Westerbeke.
The police patrolled the neighborhood with a large contingent of officers and a helicopter was in the air. Police officers approached numerous young men who resembled the suspected perpetrator who had been caught on CCTV several times - including the man who was later arrested in a supermarket on Thursday evening, who was completely calm at the time. "He was probably just there to shop," said Westerbeke.
Seizure by task force on balcony
A few hours later, the team of investigators had increasing evidence that the man in the supermarket was the suspected shooter. A task force arrested the wanted man on the balcony of an apartment in Rotterdam. The police also confiscate a firearm which they believe to be the murder weapon - the shooter killed twice with shots to the head.
The arrest marks the end of a period of uncertainty and fear for the people in the big city - most recently, on Thursday afternoon, the police had even called on people in the district not to leave their homes. "There was fear in the neighborhood and grief over the deaths of neighbors," said Rotterdam Mayor Carola Schouten. She spoke of "terrible events".
Role of second arrestee still unclear
The role of a 20-year-old man from Amsterdam, who was arrested by investigators on Monday on suspicion of the crime, remains a mystery for the time being. The man is still in police custody on suspicion of having something to do with the crimes, said public prosecutor Hillenaar. However, the man is not the shooter.
