The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has today demanded 30 years in prison and compulsory treatment against a 33-year-old man from Rotterdam. He is suspected of having shot his 14-year-old neighbor girl and 39-year-old neighbor woman dead at Heiman Dullaertplein on September 28, 2023. He is also accused of having shot a 43-year-old doctor and teacher at Erasmus MC in front of a full class of students. Additionally, he set fire to his own home and the education center of the EMC.
September 28, 2023, is a dark day that many Rotterdam residents and actually all of the Netherlands remember vividly. That afternoon, there was chaos and panic in the city. A man, angry because he did not receive a diploma after a long study, takes terrible revenge.
The suspect carries out a horrific plan that he has been preparing for half a year. At 14:10, that plan reveals itself to the outside world. The first two people who come into contact with it are his fourteen-year-old neighbor girl, the first victim of the suspect, and her best friend who was with her. An hour and 30 minutes later, the suspect is arrested by the police. By then, he has killed three people, set two life-threatening fires, and threatened several people with his firearms.
Confession
After his arrest, the suspect makes a confession and tells about his motive. He says that he has planned and prepared the facts for half a year. The suspect got up at 5 am because it was supposed to be an important day. He had already prepared gasoline in his home to start a fire. He decided to murder his neighbor woman because he believes she violated his privacy. He wanted to kill the teacher due to a prior conflict with another teacher. After this confrontation, the suspect unjustly failed his exams and also had problems with other teachers. Regarding the murder of the 14-year-old girl, he states that her death was revenge against her father, who allegedly insulted him months earlier. “The statements of the suspect are shocking to read and to hear,” said the prosecutor.
Profound sorrow
The prosecutors have spoken extensively with the relatives multiple times. From those conversations, profound sorrow emerges. Sorrow due to the loss of a father, mother, sister, brother, partner, child, and grandchild.
The prosecutor during the hearing: “In multiple conversations, we have learned that there are great concerns about what may happen if the suspect is released. The relatives are most concerned about the children of the victims. What if the suspect, if he ever gets released, still harbors a grudge and still wants to take revenge? Who will protect the children?”
Also outside the circle of relatives, the case has a huge impact. On witnesses who carried the 14-year-old girl outside, or who saw her lying there. On witnesses in the classroom who saw their teacher being murdered before their eyes. On people in the EMC who saw a man with a firearm. On others in the EMC who were actually threatened by him. On students in the education center who did not dare to go outside when the fire broke out because they thought there were people waiting to shoot them if they fled.
Protection for society
Although the seriousness of the facts justifies a life sentence, the OM sees reasons not to demand this sentence. The prosecutors believe a long prison sentence and compulsory treatment are more appropriate. This is also the advice of experts who examined the suspect in the Pieter Baan Center.
The suspect is partially mentally incapacitated as a result of a personality disorder. The experts currently estimate that there is a risk of reoffending and that treatment is necessary to mitigate this. The OM believes that a long prison sentence and compulsory treatment better protects society from this suspect.