Six dead in Dutch 'machine gun' shooting

A gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon at a shopping centre outside Amsterdam today, leaving at least six people dead and wounding 11 others, Dutch officials said.

Four of these are in a critical condition, five are "serious" and at least two others are slightly wounded.

The city government of Alphen aan den Rijn announced the death toll in the shooting at the Ridderhof mall on its Twitter account.

The suburb is less than 15 miles south-west of Amsterdam.

A witness identified as Maart Verbeek told state broadcaster NOS the attacker had a machine gun and that he had seen at least five people he believed were killed and numerous more wounded.

"There was a panic in the mall, a lot of people running," said Mr Verbeek, a pet shop owner. "I see the attacker coming, walking, and I go inside the store ... and I see him going by with a big machine gun."

The broadcaster cited witnesses as saying the man later shot himself in the head with a second weapon, a pistol, and is one of the four fatal victims. Police could not immediately be reached to confirm that or comment on the incident.

"At this moment we can confirm that there are 16 wounded and four dead," the city said on its Twitter account. It specified that there was only one shooter.

The shooter was described as being about 25 years old and wearing a leather jacket and camouflage pants.

Local resident Rob Kuipers, 50, said: "You hear about this sort of thing happening at American schools and you think that's a long way away. Now it's happened here in the Netherlands."

Investigators are now trying to establish the gunman's identity, mayor Mr Eenhoorn said.

With his voice choking at times, Mr Eenhoorn described the incident as a "disaster of unparalleled proportions" for Alphen, known as a quiet suburb, and it was all the more shocking because it took place on one of the first sunny days of spring.

"Under these circumstances, with many people shopping at the Ridderhof today, including parents with children, it's an incomprehensible situation," he said.