Elderly people, an ALS patient in a wheelchair and a young family: they all had to leave their home because of one confused man. He set a fire in a house on Enzerink in Eindhoven on Saturday evening. He threatened the police. “My legs are still shaking,” says an older neighbor.
“It was really terrible. Especially for the neighbor, who is in a wheelchair. He has the muscular disease ALS and had to go outside with oxygen bottles and all. That was not that easy,” says a 34-year-old local resident, who also left home. had to go with her family.
Years of nuisance
The confused man has been causing a nuisance for years, several local residents say. “This had to happen at some point. There is always something going on with him,” says 83-year-old Gerard van Hal. “I’m kind of glad it happened, now maybe something will be done about it.”
A few years ago he allegedly started a fire in the bathroom. The police also regularly knock on his door. Also, two stones are said to have gone through the window on one occasion. Local residents also talk about ‘weird types’ at the door there.
Alcohol
The man does not officially live there, but his ex-girlfriend does. She was allegedly evicted from the rental house last week because she had a cannabis plantation, local residents say. The police could not confirm all this on Sunday. How the confused man could be in the house is a mystery to local residents. New locks have recently been put on the house.
Local residents estimate him to be around 50 years old. He allegedly had an alcohol problem and did not work.
The fire broke out around ten to eight in the evening. The man is believed to have set fire to a bank. He shouted that there were sixteen gas bottles inside and that the whole house was going to explode.
The entire block was then evacuated. “It was terrifying. He has completely freaked out. In some ways I also feel very sorry for him that he is like this,” continues an older neighbor. “It’s terrible to see him like this. I could cry.”
Firearm
The confused man shouted that he had a firearm and the police then fired several warning shots. A SWAT team with police dogs had to come into action to arrest the man. He eventually surrendered. The police found no weapon. The residents were allowed back later that evening.
The house is boarded up and the door sealed by police. A wet mountain of clothes is still in the front garden on Sunday afternoon. “He won’t come back here again,” the local resident continues. “Then the whole neighborhood will riot.”