Possible Assassination Try Kills 4 Near Dutch Royals

Car zooms through crowd at Queen's celebration; 13 injured
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 30, 2009 10:27 AM CDT

Four people were killed today and 13 injured in a possible assassination attempt at a celebration honoring the Dutch queen, Radio Netherlands reports. A car broke barriers and zoomed through a crowd, crashing into a monument just as the royal family was passing in an open-topped bus; they were sped to safety. Some 20 people were sprawled on the ground after the attack, the Evening Standard adds.

Police cut the injured driver out of his car and arrested him; he is reported to be a 38-year-old Dutch national. Officials said the attack was purposeful but not terrorism, the Standard notes. The queen’s birthday is celebrated nationwide, but “the scare and the images that the royal family have seen is reason enough to break off the official program,” said the local mayor. (More royalty stories.)

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