Armed police have arrested a suspect after a gunman wearing military clothing opened fire inside a classroom at a Dutch university hospital and wounded at least one person.
The shooting sparked mass panic as terrified students, patients and health workers ran for their lives out of the Erasmus Medical Centre in the port city of Rotterdam. In one video, those fleeing could be heard screaming after a loud bang, while a blaze also broke out.
Footage later showed a man being arrested by armed cops after they had stormed the building to see if the shooter, described as a tall man wearing combat clothing, was still inside.
Police are also probing a second shooting at a nearby home which took place before the university came under attack.
Officials have confirmed that at least three people were injured across the shootings in Rotterdam this afternoon – two at the house and one at the hospital, according to local media.
A 32-year-old man was arrested on the hospital’s helipad and police were investigating his possible involvement in both shootings. Officers said he used a handgun for the attacks.
Terrified students were seen fleeing the university medical centre after it came under attack from a gunman
Video showed a man being arrested by armed cops after they had stormed the building to see if the shooter was still inside
Footage shared widely on social media showed scared students sprinting for their lives in Rotterdam
Video purportedly showed a classroom on fire at the medical centre in Rotterdam. It is still reportedly burning
Police launched a manhunt in the Netherlands after an attacker wearing military clothing opened fire
An arrest team was checking the Erasmus Medical Center to establish if the shooter was still in the building, police added
Police officers direct bystanders away from the entrance to the hospital after it came under fire
A patient is taken away from the medical centre in Rotterdam. The university has been cordoned off
Medical staff evacuate the Erasmus MC Rotterdam which has been cordoned off by police
Netherlands’ police officers gather near the entrance to The Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC) in Rotterdam on September 28, 2023
Dutch media were reporting that there were fires at both the house – where the blaze has been put out – and the university hospital, where flames are still burning.
It is not yet clear if the two incidents are linked but they took place close to one another.
De Telegraaf reports that the suspect shot and wounded two people at a house on Heiman Dullaertplein in the west of the city. It’s understood he then drove to the Erasmus MC, less than a mile away.
It was here that a second shooting reportedly took place in a classroom where one person was injured.
Several officers, including specialised arrest teams, have been pictured at the hospital which has been cordoned off.
Armed police were pictured scouring the roof of the medical centre, while police helicopters hovered over the city.
Footage shared on social media showed students sprinting through the corridors trying to escape the gunfire and flames.
One student told the Dutch daily: ‘We just had to run away from the arrest team to behind the school. Something is not right.’
Police officers from the special intervention service at the Erasmus MC Rotterdam
Several officers, including specialised arrest teams, have been pictured at the hospital which has been cordoned off
Nigel Jansen, a 26-year-old intern held at gunpoint by armed police, recalled being told: ‘Hands up, get out quickly!’
He told AD: ‘The panic was great. People were running and crying. We had received something, but it was unclear what was going on.’
One elderly patient was pictured being evacuated out of the medical centre in a wheelchair as armed police swarmed the building which is home to Rotterdam’s Erasmus University’s faculty of medicine.
Earlier, police said the gunman possibly left the scene on a motorcycle, but they later said an arrest team was checking the Erasmus Medical Centre to establish if he was still in the building.
In July, two people and a gunman were injured in a shooting at a summer carnival in Rotterdam.
The gunman was shot by police several times after opening fire.
There have also been scores of small explosions and at homes and businesses across Rotterdam this year, blamed on rival drug gangs.
