Six shot dead, 11 injured in Alphen aan den Rijn shopping centre

At least six people have been shot dead in a shopping centre in Alphen aan den Rijn by a gunman who sprayed passersby with an automatic weapon.


The shooting happened at the busy Ridderhof centre just after midday. According to media reports, the man ran shooting through the shopping centre and then shot himself in the head using a different gun.
The gunman is described as white, with long blonde hair and aged about 25. According to one report, he was wearing a bomber jacket and army trousers.
At least 11 people have been injured, four of them very seriously, the town’s mayor told a news conference. They have been taken to a number of hospitals in the region.
Panic
‘There was a tremendous panic, everyone was running. I saw people lying on the ground,’ the owner of a pet shop told Nos television. ‘When I saw the gunman, I ran inside and closed the metal shutters.’
Another eyewitness told Nos he had seen a body in the car park where the windows had been shot out of a car.
On April 2, two people were killed and two others injured in another shooting in the town.
Alphen aan den Rijn is a commuter town, midway between The Hague and Amsterdam.
More to follow

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