Dutch couple hurt when camper crashed into Munster terrace

By Janene Pieters on April 9, 2018 - 07:52
German police tape
German police tape. (Photo: Dirk Vorderstraße / Wikimedia Commons)

A man and a woman from the Overijssel town of Albergen were injured when a man crashed his camper van into a terrace in the German city of Munster on Saturday. Two people were killed and 20 injured, including the Dutch couple. The perpetrator shot himself after the incident. The German authorities believe that this was not a terrorist attack, but a suicide by a man with psychiatric problems, ANP reports.

Ben Eerdman, a 55-year-old garage owner from Albergen, is still in critical condition. His girlfriend sustained multiple fractions, but her condition is now stable, family members told newspaper AD. The couple was returning home from a short vacation and stopped in Munster for a drink and something to eat. 

"They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Very sad this", Ben's cousin Theo said to the newspaper. "[Ben] is so seriously injured that doctors are keeping him asleep." Several family members, including Ben's two daughters, traveled to Munster to be with the couple in hospital. Doctors will decide on Monday whether to wake Ben from the artificial coma. "We can only hope for the best."

The family is keeping in touch through a group chat, another cousin Henk said to the newspaper. "We are constantly looking for news. But it is very stressful right now. We always hope that there will finally be a positive message on the phone. His mother died two months ago, and last year he lost his sister to cancer. These are dark times for the family. Terrible what happened in Munster."

The perpetrator, 48-year-old German man Jens R., crashed into the terrace around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. He left an 18 page long suicide note behind, according to ANP. In it he blames his parents and doctors for what went wrong with him. He also talks about his debts, nervous breakdowns, suicidal thoughts, outbursts of aggression, and behavioral disorders. 

The German authorities believe that this was not a terrorist attack, but that "the motive and the cause lie in the perpetrator himself". The contents of the suicide letter further substantiates this belief. 

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