Breda mourns girl, 15, stabbed to death in home

Local residents, fellow pupils and teachers were rocked by the death of a 15-year-old girl, who was stabbed to death in her home on Bildersdijkstraat in Breda on Monday afternoon. Locals described the HAVO pupil as a "sweetheart" who was always cheerful.

The girl was stabbed in the home she shares with her divorced mother just after 2:00 p.m. on Monday. Emergency services tried in vain to resuscitate her. She died at the scene. A 16-year-old boy was arrested as a suspect. According to AD, he was her boyfriend and called the police himself shortly after the stabbing.

"Horrible", a local resident said to the newspaper as she watched police officers walk in and out of this the house. "And on this street. Nothing really happens here, and now this." Another local's thoughts were with the girl's mother. "I saw her drive away this morning to work. And now her daughter is dead. You can't even imagine." An elderly man who lives a few houses away from the girl and her mother, could not hold back tears. "It is terrible what happened to that girl", he said to the newspaper. "She was really a sweetheart of a child. She sometimes visited me. She was always cheerful and would not hurt a fly."

"I saw her on a regular basis. With her mother. We always greeted each other. Such a nice, young sweet girl. There was no harm in her. She lived in the house with her mother", a neighbor said to RTL Nieuws. Her thoughts also went to the girl's mom. "She will have to go bact to that house soon. Without her daughter. You can't even think about it. It is so intense."

The girl's death - on the first day of the school year - rocked the pupils and teachers at Onze Lieve Vrouwelyceum, which the girl attended, rector Gijs van Wijlen said to AD. "Such events are hard to comprehend, even though we as a total community of 1,700 pupils and team members are affected more often", he said. "As a school we now have to show that we are not only there for each other during the good moments, but also when we have to deal with sad things. We have to keep an eye on each other. Friends, classmates, fellow pupils, but also as colleagues, because this simply affects us all."

Deputy mayor Paul de Beer said that he was "deeply shocked" in a written response. "It is terrible that a girl has been torn away in the prime of her life. And that a minor suspect has been arrested cannot be understood. I sympathize with the victim's family, friends and classmates. Knowing all the sorrow and anger that this evokes in everyone who knew the girl well, it is important to be there for each other in this period of great loss."

The municipality of Breda and the police will be at the playground on Langendijk in the Boeimeer district of Breda on Tuesday afternoon to talk to local residents about the stabbing. The police will not be able to share any information about the ongoing investigation, but will listen to concerns and refer locals to the appropriate aid.

The police call on anyone with information that may be relevant to the investigation to come forward.