On 28 September 2023, two

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

s occurred in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, Netherlands. The first, in which two people were killed, was at a residence on Heiman Dullaertplein, followed by a second, in which one person was killed, in a classroom at the

Erasmus University Medical Center Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC or EMC) is a teaching hospital based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, affiliated with Erasmus University and home to its faculty of medicine. It is the largest and one of the most authoritative scientific uni ...

. The perpetrator, identified as medical student Fouad Lakhlili, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2025.

Shootings

The shootings began on 28 September 2023 at around 14:10 CEST, when the Rotterdam-Rijnmond safety region received reports of a fire and explosions at a residence on the Heiman Dullaertplein in

Delfshaven Delfshaven () is a borough of Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the right bank of river Nieuwe Maas. It was a separate municipality until 1886. The town of Delfshaven grew around the port of the city of Delft. Delft itself was not located on a major ri ...

, Rotterdam. The explosive sounds reported were later believed to have originated from gunfire within the residence. By 14:25, the police had also received reports of a shooting at the nearby

. The shooting took place in a building located on the Rochussenstraat, which is used as an education center for

medical student A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

s. During the attack, the gunman also set part of the hospital on fire. The suspected perpetrator left the Erasmus Medical Center at around 15:30, wearing a

bulletproof vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or bullet-resistant vest, is a type of body armor designed to absorb impact and prevent the penetration of firearm projectiles and explosion fragments to the torso. The vest can be either soft ...

and carrying a gun. He was taken into custody by police underneath the hospital's

helipad A helipad is the landing area of a heliport, in use by helicopters, powered lift, and vertical lift aircraft to land on surface. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fa ...

Victims

A 39-year-old mother was killed in her house on Heiman Dullaertplein, and her 14-year-old daughter suffered serious injuries from which she later died. A 43-year-old

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

and teacher of the

Erasmus University Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public university, public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus, Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christia ...

Faculty of Medicine was fatally shot at the Erasmus University Medical Center.

Perpetrator

A 32-year-old Rotterdam resident was arrested after the shootings. He was identified by Dutch authorities as Fouad Lakhlili, a student of the Erasmus University medical school, and had previously been convicted of

animal cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or Injury, harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...

. He was described by prosecutors as showing signs of "psychotic behavior" in a warning sent to the hospital prior to the shooting. Neighbors of the suspect claimed that there had been repeated behavior that had been reported to police, but every time police came by the curtains would be closed and the suspect would never open his door. An email sent by the Dutch public prosecution service to the teaching hospital that he attended which described this behavior, was posted by the suspect to an online forum. In the forum he described himself as an alcoholic and claimed that he was unable to finish his degree due to teachers "sabotaging" him. He had been required by Erasmus University to undergo a psychological evaluation before potentially receiving his medical degree, according to Stefan Sleijfer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Erasmus University Medical Center and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Sleijfer stated that the Public Prosecution Service had raised concerns about whether the man was suitable to receive a medical degree. On 21 February 2025, Fouad Lakhlili was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the shootings.

Aftermath

Classes were canceled at Erasmus University Medical Center and students were invited to gather near the building involved to hold a memorial and mourn.

Reactions

Rotterdam's mayor

Ahmed Aboutaleb Ahmed Aboutaleb (; born 29 August 1961) is a Dutch politician of Moroccan origin. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he has served as Mayor of Rotterdam from 2009 to 2024. In January 2024, he announced he would resign the post later in the ...

called the incidents a "pitch-black day" for the city, while outgoing Prime Minister

Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO since October 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, prime minister of the Neth ...

expressed his condolences to those affected. Minister of Justice and Security

Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius Dilan and Dillan may refer to: People with the given name Dilan is a Kurdish language, Kurdish female given name that means "hearts"; it is derived from Persian language, Persian. Female * Dilan Ağgül (born 1998), Turkish-German women's footba ...

expressed her condolences and thanked the emergency services for their efforts and action.https://twitter.com/DilanYesilgoz/status/1707444648644383050

References