A Dutch court Friday handed a life sentence to a man who shot dead three people and set fire to a Rotterdam hospital during a rampage that sparked pandemonium and shocked the country.
The medical student named as Fouad L. first stormed into his neighbour’s house, shooting dead a 39-year-old woman and severely wounding her 14-year-old daughter, who later died of her injuries.
He set fire to their house and then headed to the hospital, bursting into a classroom and shooting dead a 43-year-old teacher.
Dressed in combat gear and wearing a bulletproof vest, the gunman went to the main wing of the hospital and set the building ablaze, sparking panic as medical staff tried to evacuate patients, some in wheelchairs and on stretchers.
“The suspect put an end to three lives in cold blood. The victims had no way of escaping. The suspect took away their most fundamental right, the right to life,” said the Rotterdam court in its verdict.
The shooter was motivated by anger after passing his medical exams but being required to take a psychological test.
Prosecutors had warned the hospital that he displayed “psychotic” behaviour, including lying half-naked on a pile of leaves, laughing maniacally, and torturing his pet rabbit.
This warning had prompted the hospital to order psychiatric testing, meaning the suspected killer had not received his diploma to practise medicine.
“He devised a plan to take revenge on everyone he believed had stood in his way in his quest to become a doctor,” said the court verdict.
The suspect initially admitted his crime, then invoked his right to silence.
“Nearly one and a half years later, the consequences of your actions are still felt on a daily basis by loved-ones, victims, staff at the Erasmus hospital and the city of Rotterdam,” said the court.
L. suffers from an autism spectrum disorder, but the court ruled this should not limit the sentence.
“Even when the role of the suspect’s psychological problems is taken into account, only a life sentence does justice to the immense suffering caused by these facts,” the court said.
“The court currently sees no room to prepare for a possible return of the suspect to society.”
Prosecutors had called for a 30-year sentence with compulsory psychiatric treatment.
