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| Europe | ||
| Michigan man kills Dutch student with ax | ||
| 2007-09-11 | ||
Hartmann appeared before a judge Tuesday and was ordered held for another two weeks for investigation. Under the Dutch legal system, Hartmann was not required to enter a plea Tuesday. "He hates soldiers and says that the army kills people, so it would be legitimate if he were also to kill someone ... from the American military or from its NATO allies," Gremmen said in a telephone interview. When he failed to find a soldier at the Roosendaal train station, "he got such a crazy, disturbed idea that he killed a civilian," Gremmen said. Hartmann did not attempt to escape the scene and was arrested shortly after the killing. Dutch prosecutors confirmed that the suspect had discussed the death but did not identify him or the victim, in keeping with Dutch practice. Prosecution spokeswoman Martine Pilaar said her office was taken aback by Gremmen's willingness to reveal details of the case. But Gremmen said he was only confirming details published by the local newspaper BN/De Stem. The paper's source was not named, and police declined to comment. "I was also surprised when I saw the paper. I thought, this must be coming from the investigation," he said. Gremmen said Hartmann has lived in the Netherlands since 2002, supporting himself with English editing work for a Japanese company, which he could do by computer and that he had no fixed address. He said Hartmann had consented to undergo psychological testing, and now was "terribly sorry for his deed." The victim, identified as Thijs Geers, was waiting for a train and had no connection with the suspect or the military. Online condolence registers in the Netherlands were flooded with messages of sympathy for him and his family. "It's a sad story," Gremmen said. "But I'm glad he's admitted what he's done and that he's sorry for it."
He wanted revenge for the Dutch participation in the war in Iraq, he has told police according to reports from BN/De Stem. The newspaper reports that the suspect worked for the US air force in the past. The man's family says he never served in Iraq, has not suffered any trauma, and had resigned from the force himself. The man claims to have worked out a detailed plan to attack the commandos. He arrived in the Netherlands last Thursday and spent the night in a hotel. Police have searched his hotel room and confiscated several books. On Friday the suspect spent the night in the forest near the commando barracks. When he was unable to commit an attack there he changed his plan and decided to attack a government worker. The 22-year-old Bergen op Zoom man was most likely his arbitrarily chosen target on Saturday evening. The suspect was arrested at the station. | ||
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| #2 The 41-year-old American suspected of killing a 22-year-old student with an axe at the Roosendaal train station on Saturday had planned to attack a Dutch commando from the nearby barracks. I'd have paid good money to see that. This is kind of a switch. Usually everybody else's lunatics end up over here... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-09-11 16:15 |
| #1 This should clearly describe the attacker as either: "Violently Insane Anti-Iraq War Killer", or "Murderous Anti-War Moonbat Madman With An Axe", or "Moderate Democratic Party Activist". |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-09-11 15:42 |