Care farm shooter emailed RTL Boulevard before event
Those in the Netherlands in life threatening danger should immediately dial 112 for emergency services. Anyone suffering from depression or contemplating suicide may call 113 Zelfmoordpreventie at any time by dialing either 113 or 0800-0113. Counselors at De Luisterlijn may also be reached at 088-0767000, or volunteers may be reached at one of their local numbers. A list of suicide crisis hotlines outside the Netherlands is available on Wikipedia.
The 38-year-old suspect in the deadly shooting at a care farm in Alblasserdam on Friday sent an email to television program RTL Boulevard shortly before the event. The message contained photos of a previous shooting the man is suspected of, along with details about his suicidal thoughts and obsession with firearms, according to RTL Boulevard.
The email described the mental state of the man, John S., including five suicide attempts this year and thoughts of "hatred and frustrations," according to RTL Boulevard. It was sent a few minutes before the shooting at the Alblasserdam care farm that took the lives of a 16-year-old girl and a 34-year-old woman and injured two others.
"For five years I told general practitioners and mental health care about my obsession to buy a firearm," the suspect wrote. "I went to search other countries for this, but never dared to take a step. Until a few weeks ago."
John S. is also tied to a fatal shooting two days earlier of a shoemaker in the province of Zeeland. The police found the 60-year-old victim, Johan Quist, dead in his business in the center of Vlissingen on May 4.
The email said Quist was a random victim whom the suspect met through a gay chat room. The email claims Quist was killed to test the weapon, which the suspect said he got via Telegram. Only the shooter could know some of the details included in the email, according to RTL Boulevard.
The suspect's lawyer did not comment in the interests of his client. The police and Public Prosecution Service (OM) have the full text of the email, which RTL Boulevard did not publish.