What to Know:
Dutch authorities have reported that three people were killed during two shooting incidents at a home in the Delfshaven district and shortly afterwards at the Erasmus Medical Center (EMC) campus in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Thursday. The suspect was apprehended at the EMC campus by responding Special Intervention Service operators.
The Shootings:
At around 2:30pm, authorities began to receive reports of a shooting at a home in the Delfshaven district. When first responders arrived on scene, they discovered “a deceased 39-year-old woman from Rotterdam and her seriously injured 14-year-old daughter,” who later succumbed to her wounds at a hospital. A fire was also started at the location by the gunman, who had fled the scene.
?Breaking News?
A gunman has opened fire at Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, killing at least two people . The man in the video I believe is the suspect. pic.twitter.com/BOTDrDjJvv
— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) September 28, 2023
After the first shooting, the gunman immediately headed to the EMC campus, where he walked into a classroom and fatally shot a 43-year-old teacher. Another fire was also set at this scene before the suspect walked outside, where he was apprehended without incident at around 3:30pm.
The Gunman:
Dutch authorities have not released much information about the suspect or his relationship with the victims, only stating that he was currently a student at EMC. Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf identified the gunman as 32 year old “Fouad L,” where they further corroborated reports by the police that he was previously known to authorities due to an animal abuse conviction involving a rabbit while intoxicated.
Photo of the arrest of the Rotterdam gunman sent by a friend to my daughter who lives nearby. pic.twitter.com/B8o53JHjB7
— Sophia? (@les_politiques) September 28, 2023
Authorities say his actions were “purpose-oriented,” suggesting that the victims were specifically targeted, but an exact motive has yet to be determined.
While unconfirmed, a green text posted to 4chan on August 5 by a user in the Netherlands has been speculated to have been made by the suspect. In the post, the user said that while at medical school, he kept “getting suspended for 6 months every year because ‘i dunno hes just weird'” and that “teachers legit put that in the reports: “he does everything right but hes just weird, he creeps us out when he does X, Y, Z.”
The user adds that the “med school exam commission says they have to suspend me but cant kick me out because i literally didnt do anything wrong” and that “takes me 10 years to finish med school.”
The post goes on to say that these factors have made him a “raging alcoholic every time they suspend [him],” further adding that “in a blackout drunk stupor I torture one of my rabbits in my own garden and get convicted for it due to a coalburner videotaping it” and “allegedly kick my annoying puppy dog in garden, police raid my home SWAT style like I killed someone.”
The post concludes by saying that the police reported the abuse to the unspecified medical school, where they refused to give the user his diploma because of it. The user says that this ultimately resulted in losing a job with the final text saying “destitute” and “hurrrr its your fault for being a degenerate alcoholic.”