Suspect killed by police raises questions as investigation goes underway
The man who died at the hands of police officers in the woods outside of Hilversum on Wedesday is reported to have rammed his car into a building, NH Nieuws reported on Thursday, with several witnesses reporting a man exhibiting strange behavior in the hours leading up to the incident.
Police have so far not confirmed or denied any of the reports, disclosing only that the police felt it necessary to shoot the man. "When the officers came to the scene, a situation arose where they were forced to shoot this gentleman," a spokesman for the Public Prosecutor told the regional broadcaster. The broadcaster said there was a trail of destruction involving the Berestein cemetery near where the shooting happened.
The reports follow after the now-deceased suspect was shot in a "serious incident" by police on Wednesday afternoon before succumbing to his injuries and dying later that day. Little information has so far been released concerning how the incident unfolded, with police only saying that it was a "chaotic situation".
The incident is known to have unfolded just before 5 p.m. in the Corversbos on the outskirts of Hilversum, shortly after which a trauma team was dispatched by helicopter. Not long after that, the police confirmed that a shooting had taken place at the scene, with the suspect's death being announced at around 7:30 p.m.
According to NH Nieuws, several witnesses saw a man exhibiting strange behavior in the area in the hours leading up to the incident, which some locals reporting sighting a man screaming and hanging upside down from a fence. The information so far remains unverified.
An investigation into the incident has gone underway, carried out by the National Criminal Investigation Department on behalf of the Public Prosecution Service, the police have confirmed.
