Dutch shooting victims were businesmen brothers: reports

Two men shot dead in a McDonald’s restaurant in a Dutch city were two brothers and well-known local businessmen, Dutch news reports said on Thursday.

Police have launched an intensive search for the shooter after the two men, aged 57 and 62, were gunned down in front of shocked patrons at the busy fast-food outlet in the northern city of Zwolle.

Patrons — including school children who had just finished football practice — fled in panic as the gunman opened fire, with witnesses saying he emptied an entire pistol magazine on the victims.

Police have not officially confirmed the men’s identities but several daily newspapers gave their names as brothers Huseyn and Ali Torunlar, two local businessmen men who were involved in the hospitality industry and have a Turkish-Dutch background.

Shocked witnesses told the RTL Oost broadcaster the gunman sat at a table across the men before the shooting started.

“The suspect was watching the two Turkish victims for some time,” RTL Oost said.

“This looks like a cold-blooded and well-planned double liquidation.”

Police and medical workers swarmed the scene shortly afterwards, where shocked relatives and patrons could be seen being consoled by others.

“Police have opened a large-scale investigation into the shooting,” law enforcement authorities said on Thursday.

“Police would like to speak to any people who were inside the restaurant or on its premises just before and during the time of the incident.”

Shootings are rare in the Netherlands, although the capital, Amsterdam, has seen some murders relating to its ongoing underworld battles to control the cocaine drug trade.

In 2019 a Turkish-born man shot dead four people on a packed tram in the central city of Utrecht in a terror attack.

Gokmen Tanis was later sentenced to life in prison for the shooting.