"Black" Queensday.... a sad, sad day.

[Master Vampire]

Hi,

*As much as I hate political derived discussions on the forum, I do want to share this with the people on this forum*

In the Netherlands we celebrate the Queen's birthday (actually her mothers) on this day. It was a beautiful day, sunny, warm for spring time, people were happy and flags were hanging out. But at the end of the day, most flags hung half-mast.

The Queen and her family visited the city of Apeldoorn this year. She entered a bus with her family just before the castle she'd go to (castle 'Het Loo') and then it happened. A black Suzuki Swift got in the camera's view and smashed into a monument just 10 meter from the Queen's bus. A police officer was nearly hit too, but could dodge the car just in time.

But the worst was yet to come. This person, a 38 year old Dutchman, drove straight through the public. It has driven through the barricades and rammed 16 people in total. It was horrifying to the people watching tv (me) and the people there. Among them were children so young they should never have experienced such a thing.

4 people had died on the spot. 5 are on intensive care and the rest have minor injuries. What was supposed to be a happy day turned into a day we will never forget (after years of peaceful celebrations).

I want to ask you to pray for the people in need at this time and for the people that are hurt from it.

(Ps. this is no late April Fools joke: link (short fragment)

-MV

 

[The Dark Sheep]

What really struck me before I got to the secound half of your post was that the queen was riding the bus... You'd never expect to see them driving anything else than an armoured limousine around here (except for the day when the king had to take the subway because there was a strike that hindered him from skiing)

But enough joking about this. It's a far too serious matter. And I'm not religious so I won't pray, but I do at least I hope the victims survive.

 

[Onikaigo]

Holy crap, man. I feel for the victims, I do.

I don't know what else to say.

 

[Zephyr]

Six dead so far; five victims and the jerk who did it This will probably be the last time we have seen the royal family out in the public like that. I always loved it how natural it felt to the Dutch royalty to go out in public like that. Sure there always was security present but nobody really though anything would happen and nothing ever did happen until yesterday.

 

[Master Vampire]

What really struck me before I got to the secound half of your post was that the queen was riding the bus..

Yes this is the only day that the Queen and her family are "very" open to the public. They shake hands and walk through masses of people. There is security, but not that overly visable. Said bus was an open bus too.

I guess we can say goodbye to that tradition.

Sure there always was security present but nobody really though anything would happen and nothing ever did happen until yesterday.

Indeed. Before this there never has been an attack on the Dutch Royal Family, except when our founding father, William the Silent, was killed (and that was in the 17th century, go figure).

 

[Disciple of Nagash]

It's really crap what some people do nowadays.

Guess your Queen will end up as enclosed as ours now...........

 

[Gree]

That's absolutly horrible.

 

[Arion]

This year just seems to get worse and worse.

 

[Servius]

So what exactly was the reasoning... The only news I can find of any seeming value is in dutch and I don't speak it.

Was he like the San Francisco Market Street fiasco where the driver was in cardiac arrest. or was it just some nutter.

 

[Sibbechai]

As far as I know, the guy wanted to kill some of the Royal family.
That's what the policeman, who shortly spoke him (after crashing to that monument) says.
And that may just be the only thing we'll ever know, since the bastard himself died of his injuries, and I believe they haven't found any clues while searching through his house.

Including the guy, there are 7 people killed and 8 more are still in hospitals (not sure how badly they're injured).

 

[Master Vampire]

As far as I know, the guy wanted to kill some of the Royal family.
That's what the policeman, who shortly spoke him (after crashing to that monument) says.

This is true. He wanted to hit the royal family. They were in a bus so they think it's a one-man action. They think it's not a terrorist attack from an organisation, because they haven't found clues in his house.

Shortly before Queen's day, he was fired at his work. He did something in security. I believe he stopped renting his house, and had to leave the house within the few days before Queen's Day...

People described him as polite and relatively normal. He was a guy who had a retreated lifestyle. He also wasn't more social than needed (on the streets).

 

[Baslakor]

The man had a mental breakdown, no link to terrorists.

A sad thing yes, but everyday hundreds of people die in wars, terrorist attacks, bombings, hunger, sickness, etc etc. Most of these happenings aren't even shown in the news, but when it happens at home, suddenly the world stands still. Don't get me wrong, it is still horrible, but a little hypocrite.