Authorities reportedly warned the suspect’s university about his behaviour (Picture: EPA)
The suspect in a triple gun murder in the Netherlands was previously arrested for animal abuse and found in possession of Nazi images, it has been claimed.
The man, a 32-year-old named locally as Fouad L, is suspected of shooting dead his neighbour and her 14-year-old daughter before setting their home in Rotterdam on fire on Thursday.
He then travelled to the Erasmus University, where he was a medical student, where he allegedly killed a 43-year-old lecturer, named as Jurgen Damen, and set fire to another building.
It has since emerged that Dutch authorities tried to raise the alarm about ‘worrying’ and ‘psychotic’ behaviour displayed by the man before the incident.
Rotterdam’s chief prosecutor said Fouad was known to law enforcement and had been convicted for torturing his rabbit while drunk in 2021, which landed him with a 40-hour community service order.
He was previously charged with shooting a pigeon, though the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
He was also allegedly filmed throwing a dog around his garden and taken to court over the incident, though the outcome of the case could not immediately be confirmed.
Emergency services contained a fire at the home of one of the victims (Picture: Reuters)
According to an email from the Public Prosecution Service to the University, seen by Dutch broadcaster NOS, police found far-right propaganda and images of people being stabbed on Fouad’s phone.
As well as run-ins with colleagues, he is said to have been spotted lying nalf-naked on a pile of leaves in his garden while laughing hysterically.
The suspect has since been linked to a string of posts on the 4chan messaging board in which he appears to unload about many of the incidents and other aspects of his troubled past.
The author repeatedly claims to be a ‘clairvoyant genius’ who is unable to connect with other people as he is too intelligent.
One of the victims is thought to have reported the suspect for animal abuse (Picture: EPA)
‘I’m such a f***ing genius I never even had to learn to lie. I straight up carried myself on pure genius. I never needed to develop any kind of social skills or ability to fake emotional intelligence,’ he wrote.
The posts, which are littered with racial slurs, describe grievances with his medical school and suggest he had been repeatedly suspended.
The suspect is said to have told police he is an alcoholic and has Asperger’s syndrome.
One post stated: ‘[I was] being tortured by my unjust suspension and I acted it out on the rabbit in a Freudian drunk [sic] stupor.’
Medics cart a victim away from the scene at Erasmus University Medical Centre (Picture: Shutterstock)
The suspect was arrested after specialist officers stormed the facility (Picture: Reuters)
‘I did what I did only due to mortal levels of alcohol in my blood and deep trauma from being suspended for the X amount of times over bull*** normie crap which legit pushed me over the edge,’
Neighbours told local media that the mother who died in the shooting reported Fouad to the police for animal abuse several times.
It’s not known whether those reports were what led to his conviction and other proceedings against him, and detectives say they are still investigating the motive.
Pictures of the aftermath of the incident showed a man in camouflage gear being led away from the Erasmus University Medical Centre in handcuffs.
The suspect, who remains in custody, acted alone and the killings were ‘targeted’, police have said.
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte posted on Twitter, formerly known as X: ‘There is great dismay after the dramatic events in Rotterdam this afternoon.
‘My thoughts go out to the victims of the violence, their loved ones and to all the people who have been in great fear.’
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