Father shoots children, them himself

A 19-year-old girl and nine-year-old boy have been shot dead at home by their father who then turned the gun on himself.


The man, 45-year-old Abdel Zainalabedin, was found later in a park with a gunshot wound, close to the family home in Zierikzee in Zeeland province. He died later in hospital.
His estranged wife Amira was injured while escaping and a third child, aged 14, was with friends at the time of the shooting, according to media reports.
The family came to the Netherlands from Iraq 11 years ago after fleeing the Saddam Hussain regime.
Arrested
According to Nos tv, the man was arrested in July for repeatedly assaulting his wife but was released in January. He had been banned from going within five km of Zierikzee and was under the care of a psychiatrist.
According to local paper Wereldregio, the woman was terrified of her husband. ‘In Iraq we fled from Saddam. I cannot flee any more. So what can I do?,’ the paper quoted her as saying in January.
In another domestic murder at the weekend, a 39-year-old woman was found dead in a house in Weert, in Limburg. Her 43-year-old ex-partner was found with serious injuries at his home and he too died later in hospital.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation