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| Europe |
| Man who tried to attack Dutch royals dies |
| 2009-05-01 |
| AMSTERDAM -- The man who drove his car into a crowd of parade spectators and killed six people died of his injuries Friday, leaving unresolved the mystery of why he tried to attack the Dutch royal family. The 38-year-old suspect, identified by Dutch media as Karst Tates, had been in critical condition since the attack Thursday on Queen's Day, the Dutch national holiday. Ten other people were hurt when the man rammed his small black car through police barricades toward an open-topped bus carrying Queen Beatrix and several other members of the royal family. He told one of the first police officers to rush to his car that the attack was aimed at the royal family, prosecutor Ludo Goossens said Thursday. But the motive was unclear. "It is very difficult now that we no longer have the suspect to reconstruct what was behind this," said Fred de Graaf, they mayor of Apeldoorn where the incident occurred. Dutch media, citing neighbors, said Tates recently was fired from his job as a security guard and was to be evicted from his home in the small eastern town of Huissen because he could no longer afford the rent. Police said he had no history of mental illness or police record. The neighbors described him as friendly, but a man who kept to himself, the NRC Handelsblad reported. He was a "quiet man". Or a "loner". We don't know yet. Prosecutors said the suspect's death ended the criminal investigation against him, but that they would continue to investigate whether he acted alone. "So far there are no indications" anybody else was involved, prosecutors said in a statement. Police who searched the man's house Thursday "found no weapons, explosives or indications of other suspects," prosecutors said. No links with terrorism or ideological groups were immediately uncovered, they said. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #2 well, let's check: a) Quiet? Yep; b) Loner? Couldn't be more of one unless you count the other stiffs in the cooler |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-05-01 21:49 |
| #1 Quiet or loner? We may never know. Darwin winner for sure!! |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-05-01 21:05 |