"He suffered so much", says 4th Utrecht shooting victim's son
The son of a 74-year-old man from De Meern, who passed away on Thursday afternoon as a result of injuries sustained in a mass shooting in Utrecht, called the pain his father suffered over the past days "indescribable".
"With lead in my shoes, I unfortunately have to announce that my father died at 14:30 this afternoon", the son wrote on Facebook. "What this man has been through for the past eleven days is terrible. He suffered so much in these days, that is indescribable. Today we relieved him of this pain. Now matter how difficult it is for us."
According to the son, his father was a Burgundian who loved good food and good snacks. "The bullets made sure that all his intestines, the large, the small and the rectum, had to be removed. This meant that my father could never eat again and had to live with snakes in his body 24 hours a day. He also could no longer be mobile."
"I spared him this suffering", the son writes. "That cost me so much. I am totally devastated."
The man's funeral will be held with just family and friends, according to the victim's wishes. But a memorial will be held where others can also say their goodbyes, the son promised.
Gokmen T. opened fire on a tram on 24 Oktoberplein in Utrecht on March 18th. In addition to this 74-year-old man, two other men and a 19-year-old woman were also killed in the shooting. One victim is still in hospital, another was discharged to continue her recovery at home earlier this week.
The fourth victim's death means that T. will be charged with four counts of murder or manslaughter with a terrorist objective. He is also facing charges of attempted murder or manslaughter, and threats with a terrorist objective.
T. was arrested hours after the shooting. Investigators monitoring his banking activity finally pointed the way to his whereabouts. The investigation into his motives is still ongoing. T. confessed to the shooting last Friday, the prosecutor said. "He also stated that he acted alone. In light of the investigation, no comment can be given regarding his statement," the Prosecutor said last week.
The 37-year-old man will appear in court again next week, where a judge will decide whether to extend his pre-trail custody.
