The shot men were 57 and 62 years old and come from Zwolle, the police reported in the night from Wednesday to Thursday. The police have not yet officially confirmed that it concerns the two catering brothers.
The two brothers of Turkish-Kurdish descent were eating their meal at a table when an unknown man entered the fast food shop on Floresstraat around 6 pm. According to witnesses, he ordered some food and took a seat at the table next to the later victims. There he opened fire on the two men. The hail of bullets caused great chaos and panic in the McDonald’s, where dozens of guests, including several children, were present in addition to the staff. They immediately tried to escape.
“It’s a drama, especially for the guests who were just eating here. There are still dolls inside and happy meals”said a police spokeswoman. One of the victims had already died when the police arrived. The other was still being resuscitated, but help was of no avail.
There was a commotion at McDonald’s when the families of the two victims arrived en masse in great panic. “Shortly after the news of the shooting broke, up to 200 people were mourning. Then we put up screens to keep people away,” said the police spokeswoman.
Owner grillrooms
At the large black screens stood a short woman in a headscarf who introduced herself as a relative of the two victims. She says that Huseyin owned two grill rooms in the center of Zwolle for a long time. “It’s a tragedy. They were just sitting here eating. I got a message at 7 pm with the news,” the woman said, rubbing her eyes dry. “I heard the family was coming here, so I decided to go too. But now everyone seems to have left.”
Mayor Peter Snijders also came to the scene of the accident to encourage people there. “It’s horrible what happened here. Impressive for the people who were here. It is about extreme violence in an environment where you would not expect it. I spoke to a number of McDonald’s employees, who were logically very shocked. We are now going to provide aftercare,” said the mayor.
(read more below the photos)
© EPA-EFE
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Police hunt for gunman(s)
In the meantime, the police are pursuing the gunman who fled after the double liquidation. He may have fled the area. Witnesses said the man had been hanging out at McDonald’s for hours before the attack.
The police also keep the possibility of multiple perpetrators open, the police reported in the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
The environment of the restaurant changed after the hail of bullets into a sinister place, where officers walked around in bulletproof vests and a police helicopter in the sky over Zwolle was looking for the gunman.
Police are calling on witnesses with whom they have not yet been in contact to come forward. Victim support has been called in for those who were in or near McDonald’s during the shooting.
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