Man killed self after shooting cop
The 45-year-old Martijn Smits, who was killed in a police shootout on Tuesday morning in Boekel, was killed by a bullet from his own weapon, announced the Den Bosch public prosecution Wednesday. The man had a license for the firearm.Smits's motives are still unclear.
That Monday evening Smits reportedly attended a wedding with his wife and two children. According to reports in The Telegraaf Smits had gotten into an argument about a disagreement over a carnival carriage, but this was refuted by other guests. Smits left his home in an overstrained state later 21:00, and his father called together a search party. Around 23:00 the fire department was called to the home on the Beatrixlaan, because Smits was on the garage roof. Upon arrival of the firemen the man jumped off the car port and disappeared into the nearby fields. It wasn't until 02:00 Tuesday morning when Smits was spotted again, walking down his street, armed with a gun. When police arrived he took cover in this neighbor's house across the street, thrashing the house and throwing out the furniture. He seemed beside himself with anger and shot at police, hitting an officer in the leg. An assault team was immediately dispatched at that point. Around 04:00 the fire department received a call about a possible fire on the address, and Smits kept yelling "gas, gas" at the officers. After that point things happened in quick succession. The assault team distracted Smits with explosives, when suddenly a loud bang erupted from within the home. The team stormed the house, but by the time they gave the 'all clear' sign for emergency responders to enter the home, Smits had died.
