A 39-year-old woman was shot dead in broad daylight on a Gouda street on Tuesday afternoon. The police are looking for one perpetrator.
The shooting happened at around 3:30 p.m. on Bosweg in the Korte Akkeren neighborhood. Several shots were fired, and multiple people witnessed the shooting.
AD reported that the woman’s children watched their mother get shocked, but a police spokesperson could not confirm this to NOS.
A local told AD that he rushed outside when he heard children screaming. “I saw the victim with a gunshot wound to the head. Luckily, we weren’t the first to see it. The other neighbors were standing there with two children, who were in a state of panic.” He thinks they are the victim’s children. “I heard one of the children yell at the neighbors: My mother has been murdered.” He estimates the children to be around 8 and 9 years old.”
Bystanders attempted to provide first aid while the emergency services responded. It was to no avail. First responders took over the treatment, placing screens around the woman. It was to no avail. She died at the scene.
The police have not said anything about the woman’s identity. According to NOS, she did not live on Bosweg.
The police cordoned off the area for investigation, also deploying sniffer dogs. Investigators are looking for one perpetrator and have asked witnesses who have not spoken to an officer yet to come forward.
Gouda mayor Pieter Verhoeve visited the neighborhood on Tuesday evening, speaking to emergency workers and locals. “Many neighbors are shocked by what happened, in broad daylight on a pleasant street. You feel the despondency and the grief, and it’s good to be there,” he told NOS. “All in all, it’s a very disturbing event in this neighborhood.”