Mayor Han van Midden van Roosendaal is fed up with the nuisance and crime in the Kalsdonk district. On Friday afternoon, five people tried to kill each other on Philipslaan. There was beating with sticks and shooting in broad daylight. “The measure is full,” said the mayor. Although he does not immediately have a solution: “More blue on the street will be difficult.”
Van Midden has not been idle since the shooting caused a lot of unrest in the West Brabant city. “I have worked hard on this. On Tuesday a tent will be set up nearby, where the residents of the neighborhood can talk to the police and boas. We want to know what they notice in the neighbourhood. And we get to work with their stories. A few years ago there was a similar situation in the Diamond District. That’s how we approached it.”
No arrests
During the shooting on Friday afternoon, a 19-year-old Roosendaler was shot several times in the side. After that, everyone involved took off in different cars. So far no one has been arrested.
“The balance in a number of neighborhoods in Roosendaal is not good,” says Van Midden. “Kalsdonk, for example, is really a neighborhood for long-term investment. Something needs to be done in the short term. More cameras could be an option. More blue on the street too, but that is difficult with the current shortage of police officers.”
Big impact
The mayor knows something has to be done. “The sense of security is too low in Roosendaal. Lower than in other cities and such a shooting does not contribute to a better feeling. There are too many incidents with too great an impact on the residents.”
The Public Prosecution Service also takes the shooting very seriously, Van Midden knows from consultation. “I understand that the investigation is being intensified.”
