A 32-year-old student has been arrested after a “targeted” shooting rampage in the Dutch city of Rotterdam left three people dead on Thursday, according to local authorities.
According to police spokesman Fred Westerbeke, the shooting first erupted in a private home on the city’s Heiman Dullaert square, where the suspected gunman fatally shot a 39-year-old woman and “seriously injured” her 14-year-old daughter, then set fire to the house.
The teenager was hospitalized but died of her injuries.
The suspect later went into a classroom at the prestigious Erasmus University Medical Center nearby, where he fatally shot a 46-year-old doctor, Westerbeke said.
The alleged gunman – who studied at Erasmus University – was ultimately arrested under the hospital’s helipad, Westerbeke said.
“After this, the shooter went to another part of the EMC. He also set a fire there. The suspect was then arrested under the helicopter deck of the EMC by the arrest team, the special interventions service,” Westerbeke said.
Authorities say they believe he acted alone.
“We see his act as a targeted action, but it requires further research to gain clarity about how and why,” Westerbeke said.
Posts on social media by local police described the suspect as tall with black hair, wearing “combat-style” clothes and carrying a backpack. He had a gun in his pocket and was wearing a bullet-proof vest when he was detained, according to Westerbeke.
Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday afternoon expressed his “great dismay” after the two shootings.
“My thoughts are with the victims of the violence, their loved ones and all those who have been in great fear. Many thanks to the people of the services for their actions and assistance at the scene,” the Prime Minister wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.