Fatal mall shooting trial delayed over waiting list for mental health assessment

The trial against 50-year-old Minh V., accused of shooting his ex and her mother at a mall in Zwijndrecht, has sustained considerable delays due to waiting lists at the Pieter Baan Center (PBC). V. must go to the PBC for a mental health assessment, but the first available spot is in October, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said at a hearing on Thursday, Rijnmond reports.

V. requires extra security because he is a flight risk, and the PBC has a limited number of places that meet the requirements, the OM explained. As a result, it is unlikely that the trial can happen this year.

Once a spot is available, V. will be admitted to the PBC for observation for seven weeks. After that, the mental health experts will need another seven weeks to write their report on V.’s mental state and level of accountability.

V. is suspected of shooting his ex-girlfriend and her mother in the parking lot of the Walburg Mall in Zwijndrecht at the end of January. He severely injured his ex, a 38-year-old woman. Her 66-year-old mother died at the scene. V. was arrested after a five-week-long manhunt. He confessed shortly after his arrest.

It is not yet clear whether the OM will charge V. with murder or manslaughter. In a previous hearing, the prosecutor said he had enough evidence for murder, including that V. texted the words “until death do us part” to his ex the day of the shooting. For a murder charge, the OM must be able to prove intent - that the suspect was out to kill his victims.

During the hearing on Thursday, V.’s lawyer submitted a request to question a large number of witnesses. “I want to know from witnesses exactly how it happened,” he said. “My client has stated that he fired in a panic, not that he was walking with his gun drawn from the start.”