The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demands 15 years of imprisonment against a 51-year-old man, who is suspected of having shot two people in Middelburg during the New Year’s Eve. Both victims were injured in a leg.
The shooting occurred on January 1, 2023, at a house on Johan Constantin Mathiasstraat. While several adults and children were celebrating the New Year by setting off fireworks in the front yard, suddenly gunshots rang out and panic ensued. A man and woman in the garden sustained injuries to their legs. Four children escaped unharmed. According to witnesses, it was the 50-year-old man who shot at the man and woman from the sidewalk and pulled the trigger at least five times.
No impulsive act
The OM severely criticizes the suspect for consciously taking the risk that people could lose their lives by shooting in public. “It was not an impulsive act,” said the public prosecutor. “The file shows that he had been looking for the male victim since December 27 and was willing to do him harm. He went from Vlissingen to Middelburg over New Year’s to do what he had planned. He had time to deliberate.”
The public prosecutor charges the suspect with attempted murder (on the male victim), attempted manslaughter (on the female victim and another present woman) and illegal possession of a weapon.
The suspect, who is no longer in pre-trial detention, was not present at the hearing on Thursday. The public prosecutor immediately requested an order for imprisonment, but the court did not agree.
The court will rule on February 13.