Royal attacker: parents baffled

The parents of Karst Tates, the man who killed six people driving his car through the crowd watching the royal motorcade on Queen’s Day, say they have no idea why their son acted as he did.


In an interview with news agency ANP, the couple said: ‘It is incomprehensible. We are shocked. And we too have so many questions. We want to tell our story but we do not know the real story either.’
Karst Tates died of his injuries in hospital after crashing his black Suzuki into railings close to the open bus carrying queen Beatrix and other members of the royal family on April 30 in Apeldoorn.
The couple, who have three other children, said they last spoke to their son on April 29, his mother’s birthday. ‘That was the last time I heard his voice and I heard no hidden message in it,’ his mother told ANP.
Tates told his parents he would see them on May 3 at a family gathering. They did not know he had given up his flat from May 1, ANP reported.
Never know
As far as his parents are aware, Tates considered the queen to be a ‘stable factor’ in society and was not anti-royal. He had had difficult periods in his life and had been homeless for a time around 10 years ago, but always bounced back, they told the national news agency.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the public prosecution department told ANP that the real reason for the attack may never be known.
Police were able to exchange a few words with Tates immediately after the crash which has led to the widespread conclusion he planned to attack the royal family.
At a news conference hours after the crash, police said this conversation had allowed them to conclude it was a ‘deliberate’ attack. According to one report, Tates said the names of crown prince Willem-Alexander and princess Máxima.
No official transcript of the exchange has been made public and Tates’ car swerved away from the royal bus after breaking throught the crowd.

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