Businessman and family in hiding after weekend shooting
Bert Jonker, director of engineering company Clafis, and his family are in hiding after Jonker was the victim of a shooting in Heerenveen on Saturday. Jonker was shot in the hand in the parking lot of the Thialf skating stadium.
The decision to move Jonker and his family to a secret address was made because the suspected gunman in the shooting is still at large, NU.nl reports. The police call on him to turn himself in.
According to newspaper AD, 51-year-old Jonker had an argument with a businessman from Sneek, Friesland, in the Thialf parking lot on Saturday night. Jonker decided he had enough, got into his car and started to drive away. That is when he got shot in the hand. He fled in his car, bumping several other cars on his way out.
Jonker's company Clafis released a statement on Sunday saying that Jonker underwent surgery to his hand and now needs to recover. The shooting is believed to be connected to a business acquisition of a few years aga. According to the statement, Jonker is "emotional because of the events and full of disbelief about what happened to him." His colleagues are also "overwhelmed by events".
In addition to being director of an engineering firm, Jonker is also the main sponsor of skating team Team Clafis, chairman of Thialf business club and the owner of a restaurant in Heerenveen, according to AD. Skaters for Team Clafis include Jorrit Bergsma, Heather Bergsma, Irene Schouten and Carien Kleibeuker. He played a part in the conflict between skaters and union KSNB at the start of the skating season. He is a supporter of the globalization of skating.
The European Championships for Skating's all-round and sprint were held at the Thialf stadium over the weekend.
