Driver 'Clearly Intended' to Hit Royal Bus: Four Killed in Queen's Day Attacks in Holland

A car plowed into a crowd of people in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn on Thursday during an official visit there by the royal family. Four people were killed and 13 wounded. The authorities say it was a deliberate action.

Members of the Dutch royal family, including Crown Prince Willem-Alexander (second from left) and his wife Princess Maxima, gasp in horror at the site of a deadly attack on a crowd gathered to see Queen Beatrix in Apeldoorn.

Foto: DPA

An unidentified man in a black Suzuki Swift plowed into a crowd of onlookers in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn, 90 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam on Thursday, during a visit to the city by the Dutch royal family on Queen's Day, a national holiday. Eyewitnesses, which included NRC Handelsblad photographer Merlin Daleman, said the driver "clearly intended" to ram the bus carrying the royal family on its way to the royal palace 't Loo.

At a press conference at 3.45 p.m., authorities said four people have been killed. Thirteen were wounded, including five who are in serious condition.

The driver, a 38-year-old native Dutchman, has been arrested but he could not be interrogated by police as he was undergoing emergency surgery.

Authorities did confirm that it was a deliberate action. A spokesman for the Public Prosecutor's Office said at the press conference in Apeldoorn that the -- as yet unidentified -- man is suspected of having planned an attack on the royal family. No explosives were found in the car however, and there is "no link with (international) terrorism". The mayor of Apeldoorn, Fred de Graaf, said it seemed to be the action of a madman.

Seven-hundred policemen were on duty to provide security for the royal family and the festivities in Apeldoorn. Two policemen were wounded; one is in serious condition.

Queen Beatrix expressed sympathy with the victims in a televised speech. She said the royal family is "speechless that such a terrible thing could have happened."

Eyewitnesses say the black Suzuki crashed through the crowd barriers at the Jachtlaan at 11.50 a.m. at a speed of about 80 kilometers per hour. He was headed in the direction of the open bus carrying the royal family, which had just turned onto the street. The car came to a stop when it hit a monument. Crown Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Máxima immediately jumped up and covered their mouths in consternation.

According to eyewitnesses, the black Suzuki had been seen earlier in the day on another street in the city. "The car was stopped by police," an eyewitness told Radio 1 news. "He turned onto a side street and took off at high speed ... The driver was a 25 or 26-year old man." Other eyewitnesses added that the man was white.

After the car crashed, firefighters had to use electric saws to get the drive out of the vehicle. Around 12:17 p.m. he was carried into an ambulance. His body was not covered with a white sheet, suggesting he was still alive at the time.

The bus carrying the royal family continued to the royal palace 't Loo in Apeldoorn. The government information service RVD and the mayor of Apeldoorn later announced that all festivities for Queen's Day in Apeldoorn were cancelled. Many festivities elsewhere were also being cancelled.

Queen's Day is the commemoration of the birthday of queen Juliana (who lived from 1909-2004). Over the years it has grown into a nationwide celebration of Dutchness and togetherness, attracting crowds of up to 800,000 people in Amsterdam alone.