A man from Apeldoorn has been arrested because he shot at an Apache Defense helicopter flying overhead this morning in his hometown.
“We received a report from the team in the Apache today that they were being shot at above Apeldoorn,” a spokesman for the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee told NU.nl. The helicopter then landed safely at an airport nearby. No one was injured.
Later that day, the Marechaussee arrested a man at a house in Apeldoorn. Nothing has been disclosed about his identity.
“We are now investigating what happened,” said the spokesman. For example, it is examined whether there is damage to the helicopter. “The man’s house is being searched. An interrogation will take place tomorrow.”
It is still unclear what kind of weapon the man used and why he fired. The Marechaussee suspects that he used an air rifle.
Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren calls it “very worrying” that Dutch soldiers have been shot at in their own country. “Fortunately, the pilots are unharmed. They do this work precisely to ensure our safety. We await the investigation”, tweets she.
