Man with gun arrested for threatening to kill TV star Tim Hofman

A 41-year-old man has been arrested for taking a gun and knife into Dutch public broadcasting offices in Hilversum saying he planned to kill award-winning presenter Tim Hofman. 

The arrest was made at the beginning of last month but staff at BNNVara and other public channels in the same building were only informed on Monday morning after rumours began circulating in the media, broadcaster NOS said. 

The man reported to a security guard at around 9 pm on September 6 and said he wanted to kill Hofman. The security guard called the police who arrested the man. Later it emerged he had also been in the building earlier in the day to try and make an appointment to meet Hofman, which did not succeed. 

When arrested the man was carrying a bag containing a gun and a knife, but not explosives as has been suggested, the broadcaster said. It is not yet clear if the gun was real.

BNNVara said the suspect, who comes from Breda, is not a former worker, nor does he have any links to the broadcaster or other media outlets. He has not been mentioned in an episode of Hofman’s popular programme Boos either, NOS said. 

Boos (angry) is a YouTube human interest programme. An episode in January 2022 exposed The Voice of Holland sexual abuse scandal and won Hofman the 2022 journalist of the year award.

The suspect has been remanded in custody and an initial hearing is expected a the end of the year. 

The incident has had a “major impact” on the broadcaster and everyone who has been involved in the incident is being given the help they need, director Lonneke van der Zee said.  

In 2015, a 20-year-old science student forced his way into the Nos television studios with a fake gun and demanded access to airtime on the 20.00 hours news bulletin. And in 2002, far right politician Pim Fortuyn was shot dead outside a recording studio in Hilversum after an interview.