Man With ‘Big Machine Gun’ Opens Fire in Dutch Mall Killing at Least Six
- Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:08am by
Scott Baker
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ALPHEN AAN DEN RIJN, Netherlands (AP) — A gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon at a crowded shopping mall outside Amsterdam on Saturday, leaving at least six people dead and wounding 11 others, Dutch officials said.
The attacker was among the dead in the shooting at the Ridderhof mall in Alphen aan den Rijn, Mayor Bas Eenhoorn said. The suburb is less than 15 miles (25 kilometers) southwest of Amsterdam.
Four of the wounded were in critical condition, five were in serious condition and at least two others were slightly wounded, Eenhoorn said.
A witness identified as Maart Verbeek told state broadcaster NOS the attacker had a machine gun and appeared to be shooting at random.
“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.”
Hours after the shooting, residents continued to walk past the mall, some of whom appeared to be in a daze.
“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.”
Investigators were trying to determine the shooter’s identity, the mayor said. Eyewitnesses said he had long blond hair, appeared to be about 25 years old, and wore a leather jacket with camouflage pants.
With his voice choking at times, Eenhoorn described the incident as a “disaster of unparalleled proportions” for Alphen, known as a quiet suburb, and it was all the more shocking because it took place on one of the first sunny days of spring.
“Under these circumstances, with many people shopping at the Ridderhof today, including parents with children, it’s an incomprehensible situation,” he said.
___
Toby Sterling contributed to this report from Amsterdam.
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Comments (88)
Endstatism
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:47pm@ Catharsis
You are more than welcome to leave the United States if you think its so great in the European socialist states. And please take as many of your progressive friends and associates as possible.
Unlike Germany, Finland and Sweden,the Netherlands doesnt have much of a sport shooting or hunting tradition. I am willing to bet that the weapon was stolen from a military depot or illegally obtained in the black market. To straighten out all of the anti gun trolls, Sweden allows its citizens to own pretty much any small arm providing they are a member of a gun club in good standing. The anti gunners in the United States will never settle for a European style gun club membership law as a condition of owning a firearm. No, the haters of the Second Amendment will never he happy until civilian ownership of all firearms are totally banned.
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:23pmI guess all those Scandihoovians must be a pretty violent bunch if it’s only the strictest gun control laws in the world (apart from the Third Reich) that keep them from slaughtering each other wholesale.
That‘s what y’all are really saying, right? That it takes the entire power of The State to keep their populace under control.
Report Post »mrprof
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:22pmIt‘s obvious that stricter gun control laws would’ve stopped the deranged killer…couple that with more government healthcare to pre-identify anybody sick enough to commit an atrocity of this sort. Problem solved.
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:19pmOnce you correct for the crime and violence of the gangs and drug crime, the US is pretty much on par with those other socialist workers’ paradises. Why not compare individual US states with similar demographics to Sweden and Finland? And, while you’re at it, compare crime rates of, states ranked by severity of gun laws?
In other words, compare Vermont or North Dakota or Idaho to Denmark, then compare, oh, let’s say, D.C. or New Jersey. Wonder how that will stack up?
Report Post »lketchum
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 1:38pm@Catharsis, Sir/Ma’am, Stop. Just stop. Their populations are tiny and they are much older nations with much older less dynamic populations. Their cultures are quite different. You’ve obvioously never lived there (I have). Their rates of depression are very high – as is alcoholism and drug use they do not count as abuse. They do get married, but few are happy marriages and cheating is really common. It’s not utopia, by a long shot. Productivity is a small percentage of what it is in the U.S., and most people do not work the hours we do and they live to hit one pub, or club or another – drinking during the business/duty day is not just common, it’s the norm for nearly all.
Most of their people live their entire lives in tiny apartments they will never own. Every street is so crowded that it’s hard to move and every pub is packed wall to wall. There is little real freedom and one is born into one kind of work or another – it being long decided before a child even understands what is going on. They have special state technical units that patrol streets looking for TV sets and microwave ovens to tax and people routinely stuff small TV’s into closets in an effort to hide them.
You want to live that way? Go ahead. It ius not for me, or any other American – however messy our lives may be – at least we are free to be as jacked up as so many of us seem to be. In my view, that is vastly better than living with a nanny-state mother-in-law hanging over my every move.
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 1:51pmWow, thanks for the information. I had no idea it was like that.
Report Post »Nick Pable with Buckshot
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:31pmDon‘t know which country you visited but I’ve travelled all over Europe and don’t recognise anything you describe. Did someone offer you an unusual cigarette at some stage? What ARE you talking about????
Report Post »delhoghe
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 4:26pmLK…let’s not pick on Cath. The point we are making here…most/all of us…is that multiculturalism is responsible for much of the crime in most countries. It stands to reason that people who live among their own people will have gun laws that are different than countries who have several minority populations. It is not racist to want people to live as families among their own people. There is nothing wrong with any of us wanting to live with people of our own family. God is not a multiculturalist. He gave our own nations. Protestants, Catholics, Hindus, Muslims, and all of our races have nations that are allowed by God. But we revolt against God by not recognising and enforcing our borders. As a conseqence Protestant countries are being forced by Catholic and Muslim nations to accept their excess populations. That is destroying Christianity on this planet.
Report Post »dawg of gawd
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 1:06pmIf only EVERYBODY had a big machine gun, we wouldn’t see so many people shooting big machine guns at each other.
Report Post »delhoghe
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:57pmThis has nothing to do with gun laws. In the U.S we have over 40 murders per day..over 15,000 per year. In the Netherlands they had 11 in one day, most likely their worst day of the year. America is a drug and gun culture of every race and religion on earth. We are loaded with guns…… The Netherlands is loaded with Christians.
Report Post »LC LaWedgie
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 1:27pmSurely you jest — the Netherlands has been Europe’s drug-culture kingdom since the ‘70’s.
Report Post »delhoghe
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 1:46pmLC…they can control thier druggies better than we can. And their numbers are lower. As is their gun ownership. In the U.S a non-felon drug user can buy a gun, if they have no criminal record, that‘s something we can’t help through gun laws. I’m in favor of every law abiding citizen owning guns if they choose to. I’d rather a small percentage of lunatics fall through gun loopholes rather than see a single law abiding citizen be denied the right to keep and bare arms.
Report Post »Jerbear1098
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:51pmToday – there are approximately 262840 Michigan CPL holders. That is just those who conceal carry. MI is an open carry state as well. Anyone over the age of 18 that is not restricted by law, can open carry a sidearm. I believe the number was at one time. 1 in 24 MI adults were legally armed at any given time.
now that number changes dramatically with the illegally armed punks here in MI. Problem is, most malls in this state , have signs that prohibit carry of any kind, thus allowing this kind of massacre to happen.
One reason why I don’t frequent malls anymore.
Report Post »bjornskis
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:51pm“You hear about this sort of thing happening at American schools and you think that’s a long way away,”
over the years the dutch have had schools taken over and trains taken over by the
South Moluccas and where did they get the Uzis from.
terrorist and criminals are very brave when they know they are the only ones with a gun
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:25pmAnyone yelling Allahu Akbar?
Report Post »SIHKS1120
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 5:06pm@gonzo even if he did im sure the media will do everything in its power to hide the facts!!!!!!
Report Post »cruzinbill
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:21pmit happened because of gun control.the bad guys will always have guns.
Report Post »Hyena
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:16pm@ Catharsis
Sounds like Utopia………I think I’ll move there.
Report Post »LC LaWedgie
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:11pmAmerican schools?
This guy is 25 years old and is “known to the police” – driving a Mercedes. Probably a drug dealer?
Wild West — San Francisco maybe.
Report Post »wtd
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:58amAlso consider the suspect shot himself outside of the supermarket. . . .
Netherlands to vote on law banning slaughter of meat by halal and kosher methods later this month
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1374825/Netherlands-vote-law-banning-slaughter-meat-halal-kosher-methods.html#ixzz1J2fkXtgb
Report Post »LC LaWedgie
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 3:01pmA point of reference for you Delhoghe:
Netherlands is 61st in population and 28th gun deaths.
Denmark is 110th in population and 20th in gun deaths.
Belgium is 76th in population and 15th in gun deaths.
The U.S. is yes, number one in gun deaths and third in population. The two larger countries are India and China — I don’t think many would enjoy living in either one.
Report Post »Wilhelmus
Posted on April 11, 2011 at 3:13amGood point, thanks.
Report Post »Raider1
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:56amMachine gun my A$$…Bet it was a semi auto but this “statement” by a civilian helps the agenda for the gun grabbers.
Report Post »Charybdis
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:52amHey! This shooter was breaking the law by carrying a gun! Didn’t he realize that? That country is a gun-free zone! How dare he!
Report Post »bluesmovers
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:47amDoesn’t the Netherlands have GUN CONTROL LAWS? This story must be untrue.
Report Post »GBIsTheMan
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:35amI‘m afraid that this is a sign of the times and it’s just unbelievable to me how someone could kill people in cold blood like that. If someone in that crowd had a gun (lawfully and trained in gun safety) maybe could have averted this mindless act of assault against humanity. Just horrible.
Report Post »28_ID
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:32amI didn’t think this could happen in progressive Europe…..so much for gun control. The only thing that surprises me about this is that the shooter‘s name wasn’t Mohammed, Achmed, or Aziz.
Report Post »branch manager
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:42amThis story is still developing…
Report Post »Chooch
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:26amI wonder if the left will try to pin the blame on the right in the Nederlanden?
Report Post »javasport
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:41amNo, its George Bush’s fault!
Report Post »meshaw57
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:24amGun control once again at its best. I thought this kind of stuff shouldn’t happen in that country.
Report Post »Catharsis
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:28amAnd it almost never does. You even saw the reference to America in the article. Gun crime rates are extremely low in places like Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:19pmGun control laws work when people obey them. In the US. many don’t. That is why there is so much gun violence.
Report Post »texasfarmer
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:46pmYou really think shooters give a damn about the law? Laws are for honest people.
Report Post »alde
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:21amAnother gun free zone?
Report Post »KOCHLEFFEL
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:20amFirst Brazil and now the Netherlands, wonder what is next?
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:57amWell @ least we don’t see any violence in the muslim countries .
Report Post »Endstatism
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:53pmBrazil also has some of the strictest gun laws in the Western Hemisphere. You pretty much have to prove need before you can get a license. But there are thousands of illegal firearms in circulation in Brazil. The criminals have their guns, lawful citizens dont. That is reflected in their very high crime rates.
Report Post »branch manager
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:18amConceal and carry… Conceal and carry.
Report Post »stifroc
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:23amyou got that right!
Report Post »DagneyT
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:28amWouldn’t happen in Texas! Most of us carry!
Report Post »C. Schwehr
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:34amAmen. And to our Dutch friends, I only have one question…..How’s that gun control working for ya????
Report Post »Catharsis
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:38am@ C. SCHWEHR
Hows the gun control working? Well if you take a look at the gun crime rates of the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway you will see that these countries have extremely low gun crime rates. In fact, there quality of life is pretty much better all across the board. Less poverty, less illiteracy, fewer abortions (better sex ed), lower crime rates and a better standard of living.
Report Post »javasport
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:40amYeah how are those strict gun control laws in the Netherlands working out?
Report Post »Non-sequitur
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:59amTo all the question how Gun control is working out…
pretty fine, actually. Lower crime rates in general, MUCH lower gun crime rate, fewer homicides per capita…
Once again proves that if you ain’t dutch…
you ain’t much.
Report Post »TerminalLance
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:01pmTo the above post:
I invite you to explore crime rates in America with automatic weapons. Nearly non-existent as well. In fact, the last time I heard of an automatic weapon being used in a crime was the hollywood bank robbery back in what was it, 1996, 1997?
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:11pmA fact that anti-gunners always ignore. The most heavily armed society in the world is Switzerland. The main reason: EVERYONE in that country is in the military. At 18-45 years 1 weekend a month/2eeks a year training. At 45-55 (I believe) training is reduced. At 55-65 an in-active reserve. The rest as needed. All those in any active role is required to have their equipment at “the ready”, including a fully automatic/select fire military battle rifle. (in .308 winchester/7.62 NATO caliber)
Report Post »delhoghe
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:41pmCATH.. all of those countries ( except Switzerland ) have overwhelmingly high Protestant Christian populations. They have less multiculturalism. The U.S is a mongrel nation of the most impoverished people of the hemisphere crossing our borders. It’s too late for the U.S to be like other Christian countries..this one is going Catholic by the minute.
Report Post »Catharsis
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:51pmActually, most of these countries (Sweden and Denmark in particular) are very secular. In fact, Sweden and Denmark are home to some of the highest rates of organic atheism (Sweden being around 70% of the population).
Report Post »Untameable-kate
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 1:23pmSomeone needs to say it. Countries with less minorities have less crime. You want to talk about guncontrol being the issue, alot of American cities have very strict gun control laws and crime is always committed in these cities, with guns, overwhelmingly by minorities. I am not racist I see statistics and don’t deny them.
Report Post »texasfarmer
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:43pm@Catharsis – What the hell is organic atheism? Sounds like one of those terms the left uses when they don’t know what they are talking about.
Report Post »Many of the countries are smaller than Texas and have more gun control. No comparison. And Europe doesn’t have Mexicans and OTMs crossing their borders by the thousands.
Catharsis
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 4:27pmIt means not imposed upon the populace as in former communist countries. Talk about people who don‘t know what they’re talking about…..
Report Post »RedPillPatriot
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 5:55pmHey Catharsis and Non-Seq I think other than this and the kindergarten massacre in Scotland some years back and countless other shootings – Your gun control is great!! – but what do you guys do when the EU breaks up and the nations go to way against one another… Whoops I guess you didn’t think about that when you gave away your guns…. Waah waah waaaaaa…. sucks to be you.. God bless TEXAS!!!
Report Post »RedPillPatriot
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 5:56pmI meant War not Way… And Yes I do feel very bad for all these people and these families.
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:12amThe spirit of mayhem knows no borders.
Report Post »Catharsis
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:35amCorrect. But crime rates in the US drastically overshoot crime rates in many northern and western European countries.
Report Post »tenring
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:47amHow can something like this happen in a country with very strict gun controls?
Report Post »http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=130587
chirodoc007
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:56amLast week al Qaeda’s American leader Samir Khan, urged those with jihad aspirations to stay at home at attack soft targets such as malls. Now, some guy just decides that this would be a wonderful day to go to the mall and get rid of some ammo?
Come on, I remember the Salt Lake City Valentine’s day massacre of 2007. It was also NOT TERRORISM. It was initially reported as the work of a blond gunman. Later it was “discovered” that the shooter, Sulejman Talovic, had ties to Jihad. But it was definitely NOT terrorism.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 11:57amGod Above us all, please be with the families of the fallen, and aid the recovery of those injured with healing of their bodies, minds, and souls. Comfort their families and provide skills to those who are working on healing what has been shattered in a community at large.
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:00pmGreat. The Mexican drug war moved to the Netherlands and the gun owners in the US. will get blamed for it.
Report Post »LittleLordFauntleroy
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 12:05pmPopulation Control- Brought to you by the New World Order
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDwP7SZMXpU&NR=1
Anti_Spock
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:12pmSocieties will always produce nut jobs like this. Too bad everyone isn’t armed to defend themselves instead of being mowed down like innocent sheep.
ALL countries need a second amendment with CCW rights. That will at least curb the carnage.
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:14pmAnd OF COURSE having guns is the ONLY cause of that, right?
Report Post »TXPilot
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:50pmMaybe if these nuts knew that when they decide to pull a gun and start shooting, the rest of the people around them would pull theirs and return fire, it might make shootings like this happen less often.
Report Post »Cemoto78
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 2:56pmThis is a sad event in any country. What causes someone to turn their frustrations or anxieties out on innocent people going about their lives. We don’t need any gun control, what we need is more people with guns to defend themselves from disturbed morons like this.
Report Post »RedPillPatriot
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 4:48pm@Anti_Spock ” Too bad everyone isn’t armed to defend themselves instead of being mowed down like innocent sheep. ALL countries need a second amendment with CCW rights. That will at least curb the carnage.”
AMEN brother. I am all the time! even when it’s a gun free zone! I figure if the bad guys aren’t gonna follow the “law” or some stupid sign at a school, I’m sure as hell not either. I will not be a sheep, I am a sheepdog and will die to protect innocent life! If necessary!
Thank god there are other sheepdogs out there too! The lord is my shepherd and I am his sheepdog!
Report Post »BTW the 2nd amendment is your right to carry!
txbigfoot
Posted on April 9, 2011 at 5:30pmIf they had he right to arm themselves them this would have stopped.
Report Post »assume several armed reasonable people confront a mad gun toting man.
Them or him. Care to guess?
halodoc
Posted on April 10, 2011 at 12:01am@chirodoc007 – looks like there is a lot of it going around:
http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/world/article/513603–at-least-11-dead-in-massacre-at-rio-de-janeiro-school
Beltrami described the letter as “the words of a person who no longer believes in anything, full of sentences that made no sense and references to Islamic fundamentalism.”
…
Roselane de Oliveira, a sister of the attacker, told Rio de Janeiro radio station Band News that the young man “was very strange.”
“He had no friends, and he spent all his time on the internet,” she said.
In recent months, she said, he appeared to have got closer to Islam.
Report Post »nosycophant
Posted on April 10, 2011 at 1:31amDefine big machine gun.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on April 10, 2011 at 11:19amA man with a ‘Big Machine Gun’ and he only kills 6? This is the reason an armed population is necessary. One armed person could have ended this with only two dead.
Report Post »Sam Brown
Posted on April 10, 2011 at 12:09pmCriminals have killed 40 thousand people on our border, killing is nothing new. However the response is very tepid when compared to sending in the Fleets and the Tomahawks.
Sammy
Report Post »DTOM_Jericho
Posted on April 10, 2011 at 12:14pmcatharsis: You are flat out lying. The rates in Europe are much higher PER CAPITA than the US. The gun crimes you reference in the US are overwhelmingly ILLEGAL. Gun laws in action. I notice your moronic talking points did not compare and contrast gun crimes in say, Mexico. But I know that does not fit into your brainwashed liberal progressive hypocrisy laden agenda. You’re points are stupid your responsibility to prove, not mine to disprove. You thought you found lambs here because these people follow beck’s passive bs. I do not. I tired of your bs. Lying, illogical, hypocritical, scum of society.
If you and your atheist scum believe in evolution then you should cheer for guns. The fittest, fastest draw survive. More of your stupid hypocrisy. You are the unfit, keep to yourself.
Report Post »The Big Pickle
Posted on April 10, 2011 at 12:31pmIt’s my belief that multiculturialism, political correctness and laws preventing White people from standing up for their culture and heritiage is driving some White people to go insane. White people can only take so much before they crack. Right now the northern europeans countries that were traditionally all White now have 20 percent non-White, muslim populations.
I was in Amsterdamn recently and I saw thousands of muslim women wearing burkas while totting around a large pack of burka wearing babies. I found myself wondering “Where are all the White dutch people at? Very sad.
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