Explosion rocks The Hague garden center; Threatening notes left at scene
A garden center on Loosduinse Hoofdstraat in The Hague was targeted in a late-night explosion early Sunday, leaving a damaged glass entrance and several threatening notes, police said.
The blast, believed to involve fireworks, occurred around 3:00 a.m., according to a police spokesperson. Multiple A4-sized sheets were left at the scene with the message: “Hollander 20 pieces, time to pay.” The meaning of the note is under investigation.
Maarten Kester, owner of Tuincentrum Ockenburgh, said he has no idea what the notes refer to. “I wouldn’t know what it means,” he told Omroep West. “We have everything under control. I don’t understand it at all.”
Security camera footage reviewed by Kester shows a person climbing over a fence, placing the notes, attaching the explosive device to the door, igniting it, and taking a photograph. The suspect was dressed entirely in black and wore a hood, Kester said.
“The camera footage is clear, but the perpetrator is completely covered. Still, I trust the police will find him quickly, because he left so many traces,” he added.
Kester said he was relieved no one was inside at the time. “You expect something different on a Sunday. I’m very glad nobody was inside.”
The garden center reopened to customers on Sunday, using a temporary entrance while the main door was repaired. “Luckily the damaged door still functions. The hole will be fixed, but everything is running again,” Kester said.
