Seven people killed in shooting spree in Netherlands

In a shopping mall in the town of Alphen aan de Rijn a man killed 6 shoppers, this afternoon.

He started shooting shortly after noon. After about 15 minutes, the man shot himself through the head in a supermarket, bringing the total number of casualties to 7.
It does not appear he targeted specific people, the killing was random.

He used an automtic rifle, which he reloaded several times.

Initially, 5 people had died, later a 6th person died in hospital. Three people are still in hospital, critically wounded.

The shooting on a busy Saturday afternoon, in shopping mall 'De Ridderhof', in Alphen aan den Rijn, some 40 km / 25 mi south-west of Amsterdam.

The shooter is the 24-year old Tristan van der Vlis, inhabitant of Alphen a/d Rijn, and who lived very close to the shopping mall. His motives are unknown.

It is the first time that a shooting spree of this type happens in the Netherlands. The shooter was a member of a shooting club. Possession and trade of automatic rifles is illegal, however, and it is unknown how he managed to get such a rifle.