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Dutch parade attack driver dies



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The driver of a car that killed five people after crashing into crowds watching a Dutch royal parade on Thursday has died from his injuries.

Karst Tates, a 38-year-old Dutch national, was critically injured after his attempted attack on the Dutch royal family, and died in hospital overnight.

His car crashed into a monument after ploughing through bystanders who were marking Queen's Day in Apeldoorn.

The car narrowly missed a bus which was carrying Queen Beatrix and her family.

In a televised address on Thursday evening, the Queen said she had been shaken by the experience and sent her condolences to the victims.

"What started as a nice day ended in tragedy. We are all deeply shocked. We are speechless that such a terrible thing could have happened," she said.

Eleven people, including three children, remain injured in hospital.

'Quiet, solitary man'

On Friday morning, prosecutors announced that Mr Tates had died at 0258 (0058 GMT) from the serious injuries he sustained after crashing a car into crowds watching the parade in Apeldoorn, some 90km (56 miles) east of Amsterdam.

He was already "clinically dead" by Thursday evening, having suffered significant brain damage, Dutch media reported.

Police officers who questioned Mr Tates before he became unconscious said he had told them he had targeted the royal family.

His neighbours in the eastern town of Huissen told Radio Netherlands that he had worked as a security guard until a few months ago, when he was made redundant. They described him as a quiet, solitary man.

"Recently, he informed me that he had been dismissed and could no longer pay the rent," his landlord, Sem Bosman, told De Telegraaf. "He was due to have come today to transfer the keys to a new tenant."

Mr Tates had no criminal record or known mental health problems.

"A search of the home of the suspect yielded no weapons, explosives or indications of a broader conspiracy," prosecutors said.

Despite the driver's death, a police investigation will continue in a bid to determine his motives for the attack.

Taken by surprise

The crowds in Apeldoorn had been celebrating Queen's Day - a national holiday in the Netherlands when thousands of people take to the streets to mark the queen's official birthday.

Hundreds of police officers were on duty in a huge security operation that took months to plan.

But the authorities said they were taken completely by surprise when the small black car smashed through a security fence and into the crowd of people.

Cynthia Boll, a photographer at the scene, told the BBC that the car was already badly damaged before it slammed into the spectators at high speed.

"There were people everywhere, you could definitely see that it was serious because everywhere was blood and shoes ripped off and all the people giving CPR," she said.

Other witnesses described people being flung into the air as the car careered through the throngs who had turned out to see the queen.

The car then narrowly missed the open-topped bus which was carrying Queen Beatrix and her family before hitting a monument.

Television pictures showed members of the royal family looking on in horror as the incident unfolded nearby.
Officials said two men and two women died at the scene of the incident, while another person died later in hospital. [youtube]UazE-yDkko8[/youtube]


THE BBC

Why?
How can someone run through innocent people like that?

Sick person, should of went to jail.

He obviously had every intention of dying in the process of this. He was a quiet reclusive person who just lost his job and his home. Imagine the anger that could generate in a person. He's so angry with the world - then he sees this family of rich people parading in a bus. The fact he killed innocents isn't really going to be factored into that kind of plan.

This was his way of saying 'fook you world!'

I'm surprised he didn't think of using something bigger than that little car...

It would of been a lot easier if he`d injected himself with water or summink instead of running into a friggin bus in an 1100kg car

As for losing things and having a bad time in life we all get it at some point but we don`t go round killing others.

I have no forgiveness for ... like this, the fooker should of lived and rotted in jail.

Absolutly NO excuse whatsoever, if i had my way there would be no `fair` trial and straight to nick after a good torture

I`ve seen the REAL photos on this case and what he did was sick!

I'm not condoning this man Ste - just psychologising - trying to answer your question. He was clearly psychiatric - modelled himself on Travis Bickle as well.

The death toll in Thursday's attempted attack on the Dutch royal family rose to seven when a member of the Dutch Royal Marechaussee, or military police, succumbed to injuries in hospital on Friday.



The 55-year-old military policeman was working as a driver for the Marechaussee in the central Dutch city of Apeldoorn when he was hit by the car of the attacker on Thursday, Radio Netherlands said.

The fatalities included the attacker himself, a 38-year-old Dutchman. During Thursday's royal parade in Apeldoorn celebrating the Queen's Day, he deliberately ploughed through spectators before crashing into a monument. He died in hospital earlier Friday.

Another 11 people were injured in the incident, including a woman who is still in a critical condition. The other eight people who are still in hospital are reportedly in stable conditions.

The public prosecutor said on Thursday that the attacker had told police that his target was the royal family. The public prosecutor ruled out any terrorist motive.

The attacker was identified as Karst Tates, an unemployed security guard from a village in the east of the Netherlands.

His neighbors say he lost his job a few months ago. They describe him as a quiet, withdrawn person. His motive for carrying out the attack remains a mystery.

The Dutch authorities have put about 250 detectives into the investigation of the incident. The police have received more than 750 tips so far.

Queen's Day is a Dutch national holiday when all kinds of festivities are organized across the country, attracting hundreds of thousands of domestic as well as foreign party-goers. Thursday's tragic incident brought most of the country's celebrations to a halt.


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