Samantha Tempel (30) from Sammy’s Gameshop in Winschoten has had a tough Saturday. “Now that the adrenaline drops, I will collapse.”
A regular customer sent her a message on Saturday morning with a photo showing what had happened to her store. “I immediately arranged a babysitter for my sons aged 2 and 5 and went there.” She was shocked at what she found. “The store is my third child, I have put all my savings into it and worked very hard for it.”
On edge
The police were immediately on alert and interrogated Samantha extensively. “That lasted until twelve o’clock.” She doesn’t know what’s behind the attack. “I hear all kinds of things: that it was not aimed at me, but accidentally at the wrong building and that it is related to the gang war. But it’s clear it wasn’t an attempt to break in. Because video footage shows people putting something down and running away.”
Her store is in a former jewelry store, Samantha says. “As a result, the case is well secured. The glass you saw on the street mainly came from the building next to me, where the windows were shattered.” However, there was a fire, which the fire brigade quickly extinguished. But there was a lot of smoke from plastic items.
“We went into the store, but it was unbearable due to a kind of chemical smell,” she says. “We got a burning sensation in our throat. It didn’t help if you put something over your mouth. So we left quickly. On Monday we have to see exactly how extensive the damage is and arrange everything with the insurance. The rollercoaster only starts then, I expect.”