A woman who shot dead two armed robbers in her jewellery store in a Brabant village in March will not be prosecuted, although her husband does face charges for having an illegal gun, the public prosecution department said on Tuesday.

The 53-year-old woman acted in self-defence when she shot the robbers when they attacked her husband in the Goldies shop in the village of Deurne, officials said.

One of the robbers produced a gun and the other sprayed with pepper spray. Her husband was kicked and hit as he tried to take the gun off them, leading his wife to use the gun he had acquired after a previous robbery.

Her ‘active intervention was desirable and permitted in order to defend herself and her husband’, the public prosecution statement said. The department took an earlier robbery in 2010 into account, as well as the fact the woman is suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

However, her husband will be charged with illegal weapons possession. ‘Guns and munition are an unacceptable risk to people’s safety,’ the department said. ‘Tough action needs to be taken against them.’

The public prosecution department said a day after the incident the couple appeared to have acted out of self-defence but backtracked shortly afterwards, saying further investigation is need to decide if the couple should face legal action.

Surprise

MPs from D66 and CDA said at the time they were surprised the conclusion was reached so quickly, as did at least one senior lawyer.

The Dutch association of ex-prisoners said it would go to court if the jeweller’s wife is not prosecuted for the shooting.

The association referred to an incident in 2012 when junior justice minister Fred Teeven said the death of a burglar was a risk of the job. The Deurne incident shows the consequences of this sort of statement, it said.