Tears and anger alternate in the Spaarndam community center. The shooting incident in which a man shot his neighbor in the leg has painfully exposed a simmering neighborhood conflict. Local residents explain how, according to them, the injured victim has been causing fear and unrest in the neighborhood for years.
Screaming, threats with knives, showing his genitals and countless sleepless nights. It was commonplace for residents of a residential complex in Spaarndam. For over a year and a half, they have been experiencing serious nuisance on a daily basis from a confused neighbor. Yesterday things went horribly wrongwhen another neighbor shot him in the leg.
At least a hundred reports
A meeting was organized this afternoon in the community center of the normally quiet Spaarndam. Yesterday afternoon’s incident has left a deep impression on everyone. Local residents are therefore given the opportunity to ask their questions to the police and employees of the Ymere housing association, which rents the house to the confused man.
Emotions are running high. There is crying. Voices shake.
Residents are shocked by the shooting incident, but no one speaks of the shooter with incomprehension. Sometimes in tears, sometimes visibly exhausted, they address the authorities present. The same question is asked again and again: why did it have to get to this point?
According to local residents, at least a hundred reports have been made to the police and various reporting points in the past period. However, there was no noticeable improvement.
Tried to help
During the meeting it becomes painfully clear how great the impact the injured victim has had on the lives of his neighbors. According to local residents, he made life hell for the shooter and many others for years. The shooter, described by local residents as a friendly and caring man, is said to have lost twenty kilos in a short time and became completely stuck due to the persistent stress.
A young woman tells NH anonymously how the situation has physically destroyed her. “Insomnia, eczema… just look up the list of psychosomatic complaints, I can tick them all off,” she says.
Every day she heard through the walls how the man was scolding her. “You can’t escape it because it’s in your house. In your bedroom, in the living room, in the kitchen. You hear it everywhere.”
According to her, the man once said that he hit the stairwell with a hammer, purely to make as much noise as possible. “It was a cry for attention. That’s why we really tried to help him at first,” she says. “But at a certain point the size is full.”
At the mercy of gods
The man’s situation gets stuck in bureaucratic procedureswhere parties collide with legal frameworks. “There was a lawsuit last September to get him out of the house, but the judge did not agree to it,” says a Ymere employee. “Then you’re back to square one.”
The local residents understand that the situation is complicated, but do not care about it. “Everyone is going home and we are in misery,” says one of them.
The municipality of Haarlemmermeer said in a response that the home of the confused man will remain closed for the time being. This was done to restore peace to the neighborhood and to ensure the safety of the resident. The man cannot return to his home and is receiving guidance in finding another place to live. It is not known where the man can go for the time being.
