Gunman kills 6, then self at Netherlands mall today

ALPHEN AAN DEN RIJN, Netherlands (AP

A man armed with a machine gun opened fire in a crowded shopping mall today, killing six people and wounding 15, then committed suicide, officials and witnesses said.

Children were among the casualties, including an infant who was lightly injured, said Mayor Bas Eenhoorn. Three of the wounded were hospitalized in critical condition.

The rampage ended when the attacker shot himself in the head at the Ridderhof mall in Alphen aan den Rijn, a suburb 19 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Amsterdam.

The gunman was identified as 24-year-old Tristan van der Vlis, and it was "all but certain" he acted alone, District Attorney Kitty Nooy said. Afterward, a note was found in the attacker's black Mercedes containing threats that he had planted explosives at three other malls in the city, said Nooy. The malls were evacuated, but no explosives were found.

A witness identified as Maart Verbeek told state broadcaster NOS the attacker appeared to be firing randomly.

Nooy said the shooter was a native Dutchman from Alphen who had previous run-ins with the law, including an illegal weapons possession charge when he was only 17 years old that was later dropped. He lived with his father.

Hours after the shooting, residents continued to gather at the mall, some of whom appeared to be in a daze.

"You hear about this sort of thing happening at American schools and you think that's a long way away," said Rob Kuipers, 50, a project manager. "Now it's happened here in the Netherlands."

Eenhoorn said both the gunman's mother and father were cooperating with the police investigation. The mother found a suicide note at her son's apartment, but Eenhoorn said it did not offer any explanation for the attack.

"The text is a farewell note," Eenhoorn said. "It says that he planned to commit suicide and a number of other things, but doesn't make reference to the terrible things he did."

Although rare, shootings and violence are not unknown in the Netherlands.

In 1999, four students and a teacher were hurt in a school shooting and in 2004, a teacher was shot dead by a student.

There also have been two assassinations in the past decade, the 2002 killing of right wing politician Pim Fortuyn by an animal rights activist, and the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic extremist.

In 2009, a loner drove his car into a group of bystanders during a royal parade, killing eight and wounding 10.