An attack was committed on a house at De Boeten in Hollandscheveld on Monday night. A heavily pregnant woman and her one-and-a-half-year-old son were able to escape from their heavily burning home in the nick of time.
Residents of De Boeten, which is known as a close-knit neighborhood, are very much frightened. Towards the end of the evening, several local residents heard some loud bangs and glass shattering. Outside it became clear where the sound came from. One of the two hairdressers in the street was on fire. High flames shot out of the broken windows. “It really happened,” says one resident.
‘Help, I can’t breathe’
But even worse: inside were a heavily pregnant woman and her one and a half year old son. Neighbors saw the woman climb out of an upstairs window, on top of the living room’s bay window, holding her son close to her.
“I heard her screaming,” a neighbor recalls. “She shouted: help, help, I can’t breathe!” The woman eventually threw the boy downstairs into the arms of a neighbor who had rushed over. Then she jumped herself.
‘Soot on his face’
Mother and son were quickly taken in by neighbors across the street. “They were completely in shock. The boy had soot all over his face. Very intense,” says this resident. Not much later, the resident of the burning house also arrived in the street, with a half-damaged car.
“He had been driving home so fast that he veered somewhere,” says one of the local residents. At the end of the morning on Tuesday, you can see how a car with significant damage to the front is being removed.
The woman and her son were taken by ambulance to the hospital for a check-up. They are reportedly doing well now. The police take the matter seriously and say that the situation could have ended very differently. The game assumes intent.
Intent in the game
Just before the fire, witnesses saw a person in dark clothing throw something inside and then run away in the direction of a nearby school. The motive for the attack is still unclear. A forensic investigation team is busy investigating in and around the completely burned-out house on Tuesday. The police are looking for multiple witnesses and camera images.
The incident at the home appears to be an isolated incident. Local residents say that there has never been anything wrong with the affected family. Many neighbors want to talk, but only anonymously. “The police are talking about arson. You never know what will come out behind it,” says a neighbor.
According to local residents, the young family lived there for several years. “They didn’t have much contact with the neighborhood, but he always waved. I think most of them have never seen her,” says one of the neighbors. According to a neighbor, the resident was active in Rotterdam for work.
Damage to the neighbors
There is little left of the burned-out house. The blackened remains speak volumes. But the family living on the other side of the two-story house has also been hit hard and will most likely have to spend Christmas elsewhere. This home also suffered significant fire and smoke damage, including a gaping hole in the roof. “But fortunately everyone was unharmed,” says a family member.