Police acknowledge poor response to fatal stabbing at Wageningen care institute

The police acknowledged that they "did not respond well" to multiple emergency calls from a mental healthcare institute in Wageningen in February, reporting that a 27-year-old patient was attacking staff. The stabbing incident ended with the patient dead and two employees injured. Despite promising to send someone, it took a long time for the police to arrive, NU.nl reports.

The stabbing happened at a Regional Institute for Protected Living on Morel in Wageningen. Local residents called the emergency number multiple times, according to the newspaper.

According to the police, it initially seemed that the incident was confined to the patient's room. "The dispatcher estimated that there was no immediate danger at the time and that it was the responsibility of the institution's staff to restore calm," the police said. But after listening to the recorded conversations again, the police concluded that there was indeed indications that immediate police action was required.

Police chief Oscar Dros said that he regrets the course of events. "It could have and should have gone differently. We have to learn from this. We owe that to the employees of the care institution, as well as the parents of the client."