Almost immediately after a couple was shot dead in Weiteveen, a stream of jubilant messages of support for the suspected shooter emerged on social media. Those responses are completely inappropriate and disrespectful.
An incomprehensible drama took place this week in and around a house on Bargerweg in Weiteveen. A 38-year-old Polish man and his 44-year-old Dutch wife were shot dead. The suspected shooter Richard K. then went live on Facebook and said that he was driven to his act by serious threats. Moments later he was arrested.
Stories immediately emerged that K. had had a conflict with the shot couple after selling his house in Weiteveen. The man was said to have been so harassed and threatened that he saw no other way out for the safety of his family than to kill his tormentors.
Two children have lost their parents
His video and the news reports about the tragedy led to many reactions on social media from people who blame the police, understand that K. killed the couple and sometimes even applaud it. In their eyes, Richard is a hero because he took matters into his own hands.
Such jubilant reactions are completely inappropriate and disrespectful to the victims and their relatives, including two young children. They had to be told that their mom and dad had died, had been shot. The victims themselves had the most precious thing taken from them: their lives.
It is possible that the police were negligent, but it is far too early to conclude that now. This needs to be thoroughly investigated.
Threat to legal system
Whatever happened can never be a justification for killing someone. People who take the law into their own hands pose a threat to our legal system and therefore society. Much is still unclear about what exactly drove the shooter. There may have been more problems in his life.
Anyway: Richard K. is no hero. He deserves, just like everyone else, compassion and a fair trial. The relatives of the victims deserve compassion, respect and, above all, support in processing their intense grief.