5 Wounded in Shooting Rampage at Dutch School

A student, said by classmates to be angry over a failed romance, shot and wounded five people at his school Tuesday in the first such shooting rampage in the Netherlands, according to police.

The suspect, 17, sprayed bullets in a hallway and classroom of the regional vocational school in Veghel, about 60 miles southeast of Amsterdam, wounding a teacher and four students, authorities said.

The victims were taken to hospitals, where two of the students were in critical condition. The teacher, a 46-year-old woman, and another student were in stable condition after surgery. A fourth student suffered a minor bullet wound, police said Tuesday evening.

Shootings are rare in the Netherlands and are normally confined to the criminal underworld and the drug trade. Gun laws are strict.

“There were people running, police and all. . . . You’re used to seeing such things on television, in films, and now suddenly it happens in a small village like Veghel,” one student said.

Witnesses said the main scene of the shooting, a computer room, had streaks of blood on the floor and bullet holes in the walls. Chairs were overturned, they said.

Police said they believe 10 shots were fired. The suspect fled the scene but later turned himself in, bringing along his weapon.

Police declined to comment on a motive for the shooting.

Students gathered outside the school told Dutch television that the suspect was upset over a relationship involving his sister and another student and may have been intent on avenging her honor. Other students speaking to local radio talked of a failed romance and an argument between the suspect and a female student.