Stupor in Rotterdam. Two people were killed and a teenage girl is in dire need Thursday after a double shooting in the Dutch city, police said. An armed 32-year-old man in combat gear opened fire on a house and then a hospital in Rotterdam, southwest of the Netherlands. Fires broke out in both locations but were able to be put out.
“The two shootings in Rotterdam left people dead. We will first inform the family and relatives and give further explanations later,” the city police said in a statement. Elite police units raided the Dutch city’s hospital in search of the suspect armed with a handgun, authorities said. The motive for the attack remains unknown, local news agency ANP said, citing police.
“A lot of panic”
The man is suspected of being the sole perpetrator of the shooting and there was no second shooter, police said. Footage at the scene showed people leaving the hospital, including doctors and patients, as police in bulletproof vests entered. Police helicopters flew overhead. Doctors in white coats carried patients on stretchers and wheelchairs.
Police earlier said the suspect was wearing “combat” clothing, was tall, with dark hair and was carrying a backpack. “First there was a shooting on the fourth floor. Four or five shots were fired. Then a Molotov cocktail was thrown in the educational center,” said a medical student quoted by the RTL television channel without giving his name. “There was a lot of panic and screaming… I didn’t hear any shots, just panic,” said another eyewitness, quoted by public broadcaster NOS.