Queen’s Day attacker: ‘prince is a facist’
The man who drove his car into the crowd watching the royal family during this year’s Queen’s Day celebrations regarded crown prince Willem-Alexander as a facist and a racist, according to an official police report into the incident.
Seven people were killed when Karst Tates drove through the crowd as the bus carrying the queen and other members of the royal family appeared. The car smashed into railings and Tates died later of his injuries.
The report said it was ‘highly probable’ that the royal family was his target. Tates, a loner who had recently lost his job and was about to lose his home, told a police officer immediately after the incident that it had been a ‘deliberate act’.
The police officer, who sat in the car with Tates, asked him what had happpened.
‘I heard him say: ‘the queen, the queen’,’ the officer was quoted as saying. ‘I asked him had he acted deliberately and I heard him say ‘yes, I did it on purpose’. I asked him why and he said ‘Willem-Alexander is a facist, he is a racist’. And I knew the queen was coming here’.’
The report states that Tates acted alone and had not made elaborate preparations. It is also likely that he was not aware people would be standing on the crossroads when he drove into the crowd. He did sound his horn as he approached but did not slow down and did not appear to have attempted to break, the report said.
Nevertheless, it is still difficult to determine what motive had for the attack, the report states. Although Tates was critical of the monarchy, he did not believe in an ideology which would make sense of what he did, the Telegraaf quoted the report as saying.
More to follow
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