“We have already sounded the alarm about this several times, but apparently something had to be done first. After this weekend it is clear that it cannot continue like this.” The mother had called the crisis service in the morning that her son was not doing well, but in the evening it still went dramatically wrong.
The man was arrested Saturday night after his mother was stabbed to death. That happened in the parental home on the Varviksingel in Enschede.
De Enschedeër is a psychiatric patient and suffers from psychoses. As he probably also had a psychosis on Saturday evening during the outburst of violence in the parental home. After the police received an alarm about a stabbing, rescuers tried to resuscitate the victim, but help was no longer useful.
Smeared with blood
The son walked to his house after the stabbing. He was probably covered in blood, because he left traces in various places on the route from the Varviksingel to Het Baurichter, a few hundred meters away, a few minutes’ walk. Among other things, a lamppost near his house, a fence and a wooden post by the side of the road were smeared with blood.
Around a quarter to nine in the evening, the neighborhood was startled by noise. “He was standing in front of his house, screaming and with both arms in the air. Like a kind of victory gesture,” said an eyewitness. “He walked in circles and banged on the neighbor’s windows, who was fortunately not at home.”
‘Looks like a movie’
According to the eyewitness, the whole scene lasted less than fifteen minutes. “Out of nowhere, five police cars suddenly drove into the street, after which he was pushed to the ground by officers and a gun was pointed at him. It was like a movie. Our children have seen everything happen. They have been completely upset ever since. “
The 28-year-old psychiatric patient had not lived at Het Baurichter for very long. A year, a year and a half at most. It was his mother who helped him with the move at the time and regularly visited her son. She helped him with the housework, tended the garden.
His neighbors do not know whether the man also worked. “We often saw him leave in the morning on his bike and then come home in the evening. But no idea where he was during the day.”
Psychiatric background
It was known to a number of local residents that the man had a psychiatric background and had psychoses, but not everyone knew that. “That’s what makes it so difficult,” says a neighbor. “You didn’t notice him. I regularly saw him on the street and he would greet him kindly. The scary thing is: our children have already knocked on his door once with children’s stamps and for hey for a job. What if he was like that? get a psychosis one moment?”
According to the local resident, the mother of the suspected Enschedeër called the crisis service that morning. “Because her son was not well. But apparently she didn’t get any help. That afternoon he was sitting here on the sidewalk in front of his house. Said he couldn’t go in, when the door was open. So it was obvious that something was wrong.”
Problem homes
Residents of Het Baurichter have been near despair for some time now. Previously, a number of houses in their street were used as senior housing. “But after those houses became empty, they were used to receive people with a problem background. Alcohol, drugs, psychiatric problems. We have already raised the alarm about this several times. At the housing association, the local police officer. But apparently there has to be something to happen first. We could not have foreseen that it would have such dramatic consequences.”
According to a neighbor, there are four residents. “One of them set fire to her own home last year. An entire team, including a psychologist, came in to calm her down. We indicated that we would rather not see her return, but her house was picobello refurbished and she has lived there ever since.”
The residents only want to tell their story anonymously. “After all, these people still live here among us.”
‘Good guidance’
The neighborhood is fed up and wants action to be taken now. Local resident Johnny Bernhard: “Note: everyone deserves a second chance. These people too. As far as I’m concerned, they don’t have to leave immediately. But it should not be the case that an accompanying agency puts these people in a house and then leaves them to their own devices. They can live here just fine, but then they have to get good guidance.”
The local residents are not yet sure what action they will take. Johnny Bernhard: “It has only just happened. We must first see what the possibilities are. But it is clear to us that something must be done. I have lived here for twenty years. With great pleasure. But the We’ve been talking about moving plans lately. It’s never been as bad as now. This weekend has made it clear that it can’t go on like this any longer.”
