Dutch police said on Friday they had arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting three people in the port city of Rotterdam in an apparently random spree over two weeks.
The series of murders has instilled fear among local residents and made front-page news in the Netherlands, where gun violence is often linked to organized crime groups.
The agents detained a 24-year-old man with no fixed address and a weapon was found at the scene. There is still no indication of a motive, chief prosecutor Hugo Hillenaar told reporters.
“It has been a nightmare for everyone living in Rotterdam, but also for me personally and for all the professionals involved, when someone was roaming around freely shooting random victims,” Hillenaar said.
Hillenaar said the suspect was born on the Caribbean island of Curacao but grew up in the Netherlands. He was known to police for petty crimes when he was a minor, such as shoplifting.
The wave of violence began on December 21, when a 63-year-old man was shot in the head and later died from his injuries. Almost exactly a week later, a 58-year-old man was shot under similar circumstances in the same neighborhood.
Rotterdam Police Chief Fred Westerbeke said his team quickly established a link between the two murders, but was unable to prevent a third: An 81-year-old man was shot on Thursday.
In fact, officers questioned the suspect at a store on Thursday night, but were unable to match him to the grainy CCTV image circulating at the time, Westerbeke said.
Police took a photograph of the suspect and his identity details and this allowed them to arrest him shortly before midnight on Thursday, the police chief added. Authorities have not found any link between the three victims so “we assume they were chosen at random,” he added.
Rotterdam Mayor Carola Schouten said there was “great relief” in the city when police arrested the suspect.
“This has put an end to a terrifying situation. “I sincerely hope, and also assume, that we can support each other in this pain,” he said. “Take good care of each other. “
