Dutch mourn 6 mall-shooting victims

Associated Press

AMSTERDAM

Thousands of people, including the Dutch prime minister, gathered Sunday to mourn at a memorial service outside a mall where a mentally troubled man killed six people Saturday.

Investigators are puzzling over the gunman’s motive and trying to understand how he was able to obtain and legally own five firearms despite prior run-ins with the law and a stay at a psychiatric institution.

The attacker, identified as 24-year-old Tristan van der Vlis, opened fire at the Ridderhof mall in Alphen aan den Rijn. Many of his fatal victims were elderly people unable to flee. He wounded at least 17 people, then fatally shot himself.