Shooting at Ridderhoff shopping centre (NL) - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

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"Attacker opened fire with automatic weapon before shooting himself in crowded mall in suburb near Amsterdam
At least seven people have died at a shopping centre outside Amsterdam after a gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon before killing himself.
There were also at least 16 people wounded during the attack at the Ridderhof mall in the suburb of Alphen aan den Rijn, 15 miles (25km) southwest of Amsterdam.
The mayor, Bas Eenhoorn, said children were among the victims, but he could not confirm whether they were among the wounded or dead, or both. "It's too terrible for words, a shock for us all," he said.
A witness identified as Maart Verbeek told the Dutch state broadcaster, NOS, that he had seen five people he believed were dead. "There was a panic in the mall, a lot of people running," said Verbeek, a pet shop owner. "I see the attacker coming, walking, and I go inside the store ... and I see him going by with a big machine gun."
NOS cited witnesses as saying the man later shot himself in the head with a second weapon, a pistol.
The gunman was described as a 25-year-old white male with blond hair who was wearing a leather jacket and camouflage pants. His identity was known and it was "all but certain" he acted alone, district attorney Kitty Nooy said, but investigators were not yet ready to release his name or age. She said he was a native Dutchman from Alphen who has a criminal record.
Martine Spruit, a 41-year-old receptionist, said she was shopping at a drug store when she heard bangs and people in the store hid behind shelves. When they realized a shooting was taking place, customers shouted for employees to lock the doors.
"Then we heard the shots getting further away, so he was walking back and forth," she said. "Then we thought we'd have a look and there were two people lying dead near the entrance ... then he came back shooting so we locked the door again."
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"You hear about this sort of thing happening at American schools and you think that's a long way away," said Rob Kuipers, 50, a project manager. "Now it's happened here in theNetherlands."
A resident who lives near the mall who gave his name as Marijn said the shooting went on for several minutes. When he went to see whether friends working at the mall were OK, he saw the shooter lying dead in front of a grocery store.
"There was glass everywhere," the resident said. "He was just shooting everywhere as if it were the Wild West."
Four of the wounded are in critical condition, five were in serious condition and at least two others were slightly wounded, Eenhoorn said.
He described the incident as a "disaster of unparalleled proportions" for Alphen, known as a quiet suburb.
"Under these circumstances, with many people shopping at the Ridderhof today, including parents with children, it's an incomprehensible situation," he said."

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 09/04/2011 Publication: The guardian Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: international News Category: Crime

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