They have not been left out in the cold. At the beginning of September, a fireworks bomb went off at the front door of Joop (82) and Anke (76) Keizer. Last night it happened again in the Grote Waal residential area in Hoorn where they live. “It woke me up. It’s about 200 yards from here.”
The couple has not lived in great fear since the explosion, but it does not give them a pleasant feeling. Although Joop and Anke go out together again and go on bike rides, they no longer fall asleep easily at night.
On the night of September 7 to 8, Joop and Anke had a hit at the Weidemolen. Two heavy Cobra fireworks bombs had been thrown through the letterbox. The front door, crawl space and an old clock hanging in the hall were damaged.
Two days later it happened again in the residential area, a little further on at the Windmolen. The explosion caused a door to come apart at the seams and the residents themselves were not at home when the fireworks bomb went off.
And tonight, a month later, another fireworks bomb goes off. This time not very far from Joop and Anke, about 200 meters.
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“We just hope it doesn’t happen to us again,” says Joop. In addition to the material damage, Anke was left with a ringing ear from the enormous bang. They have installed cameras and Joop locks the mailbox every evening, using a self-designed system. “Every morning I set the alarm around five o’clock to open the mailbox again so that the newspaper can be delivered.”
No enemies and no drugs involved
It gives Joop and Anke some reassurance that fireworks bombs may not have been deliberately thrown through their letterbox. “The police also asked us if we have any enemies, but we don’t have any. I’m not into drugs at all, I’ve never even had a joint in my hand. So it’s probably just a mistake,” he says.
They hope that it will become clear who and what is behind it. “But we understand that it is also difficult for the police. It happens in so many places.”