Nieuwegein family removed from home after shooting, hand grenades

Mayor Frans Backhuijs of Nieuwegein ordered a family living on Beatrixstraat to leave their home for three months for the sake of the safety of the neighborhood. Last week shots were fired at the home, and on Thursday two hand grenades were found in front of it.

The police closed down Beatrixstraat early on Thursday morning due to an explosive found in front of the home. Residents were allowed to stay in their homes, but a nearby school had to open a little later, according to the Volkskrant. By 9:00 a.m., the street was released.

Around 2:00 p.m. another explosive was found. Again the street was closed off. And the school was evacuated. Explosives experts identified both explosives as hand grenades. Last week shots were fired at the home.

"That there is a conflict is clear", a police spokesperson said to the Volkskrant. "But we do not know what the conflict is about. We want to discuss this further with the man who seems to be the target of these actions."

The municipality therefore decided to close the home for three months. "Immediate closure is necessary to ensure safety for the environment and to prevent new incidents", mayor Backhuijs said, according to the newspaper. "Local residents are at risk. A school was evacuated."

The family, consisting of a man, a woman and two adult children, will have to arrange their own alternative accommodation. The municipality will not compensate them for this. Neither police nor mayor would tell the Volkskrant whether the family will be given protection. According to Backhuijs, the family showed understanding for his decision.

"Closing a house for this reason is not very common, but it happened a few times before in other municipalities", the mayor said. In any case, the local residents hare happy with my decision. It could have been very different if one of those hand grenades had exploded in the street."