Police officers in the Dutch municipality of Alkmaar shot a woman (48) who was damaging vehicles, across the street from a primary school, causing many children to witness the shooting.
The woman walked on the street with a large knife and a hammer, trying to destroy cars and damaging windows, according to the spokesperson of the local police, reports Het Nieuwsblad.
"We tried stopping her. She turned around and ran at the police officers. They felt it was necessary to shoot her," the spokesperson said. The woman was gravely injured and immediately taken to hospital.
The police also tweeted to ensure citizens that the incident had nothing to do with a terrorist attack, after some misinformation was spread on Twitter.
Aanvulling incident #Alkmaar: Er gaat een bericht rond op Twitter (zie afbeelding in bijlage). Dit betreft #fakenews. Informatie in tweet klopt niet. pic.twitter.com/3fPx2eduUS
— Politie NHN (@POL_NHN) November 13, 2019
Translation of tweet: "More on the incident in Alkmaar: There is a post going around on Twitter (see image). This is fake news. Information in the tweet is not correct."
Translation of image in tweet: "Terrorist attack prevented by school in Alkmaar. Woman 52 with headscarf and waving knife wanted to enter school. Police shot her."
Several people who live close by said that the woman lives in the same street and has been terrorising the other citizens for years, reports NH Nieuws.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
