Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Gunman Who Stormed Dutch TV Studio Likely Muslim - Identified As Tarik Zahzah Whose Father Is Egyptian
Gunman Who Stormed Dutch TV Studio Likely Muslim - Identified As Tarik Zahzah Whose Father Is Egyptian
January 30, 2015
MIM: The 19 year old student Tarik Zahzah whose father is Egyptian and has a Dutch mother will be held in detention for at least 14 more days. He barged into the studio with a gun (which later was determined to be fake) demanding airtime to "discuss major world affairs". He claimed to be from a hackers collective threatening that radioactive bombs had been placed around the country. He studied Molecular Biology and Technology. A fellow student described him as a "loner". He is facing 20 years to life imprisonment for his actions.
He also had a letter with him which read:
"'Wanneer u dit leest, raak dan niet in paniek. Ga niet schreeuwen en waarschuw uw collega's ook niet. Doe alsof er niets aan de hand is. Ik ben zwaarbewapend. Als u gewoon netjes meewerkt, dan zal u niets overkomen.'
'Besef dat ik niet in mijn eentje ben. Er zijn er nog vijf, plus 98 hackers die klaar zijn voor een cyberaanval. Bovendien zijn er in dit land acht zware explosieven geplaatst die radioactief materiaal bevatten. Als u mij niet naar studio 8 brengt om een uitzending over te nemen, dan zijn wij genoodzaakt tot actie over te gaan. Dat wilt u niet op u geweten hebben toch? Dus begeleid mij nu naar studio 8, de NOS studio', aldus de tekst in de brief.
Wij zijn gegijzeld door zwaar bewapende mannen. Er zijn er nog meer van hen in de rest van het land en zij hebben 98 hackers klaar staan voor een cyberaanval. Ook zijn er acht zware explosieven in het land geplaats, die radioactief materiaal bevatten. Zij willen live uitzending doen om hun verhaal te kunnen houden. Als die live-uitzending op enige manier verstoord wordt, zullen zij tot actie over gaan. Van buitenaf wordt in de gaten gehouden of de live-uitzending in heel Nederland bekeken kan worden. Hun voorwaarden zijn daarom onder andere: 1. dit gebouw wordt niet bestormd. 2. De live-uitzending wordt niet vertraagd, geen enkele seconde onderbroken en niet bewerkt. 3. Voor de duidelijk (sic) wordt er dus geen informatiebalk en ook geen ondertiteling aan de liveuitzending toegevoegd. Als aan de voorwaarden wordt voldaan, zullen wij vrij worden gelaten. Ik zal het nog een keer herhalen.
http://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/binnenland/lees-de-brief-van-de-nos-indringer
Translation:
When you read this do not panic. Do not scream and also do not warn your colleagues. Pretend as if nothing is wrong. I am heavily armed. If you follow instructions nicely nothing will happen to you.
Understand that I am not alone. There are still five, plus 98 hackers who are ready for a cyber attack. In addition there are eight heavy explosives which have been placed in this country which contain radioactive material. If you do not take me to studio 8 to take over the broadcast we will be compelled to go into action. You do not want this on your conscience, do you? Therefore take me to studio 8, the NOS studio',according to the text of the letter.
We are being held hostage by heavily armed men.There are also more of them in the rest of the country and they have 98 hackers ready for a cyber attack. There are also eight heavy explosives which were placed in the country which contain radio active material. They want to have a live broadcast to present their story. If the live -broadcast is disturbed in any way, we will go into action. From the outside it will be monitored if the live -broadcast can be seen in all of Holland. Their demands are therefore among others: 1. This building will not be stormed. 2. The live -broadcast cannot be delayed, nor be disturbed for even a secound and not edited. 3. For the clarity (sic) there will be no information banner and also no sub titles added to the live broadcast. If these demands are met, we will be set free. I will repeat this yet again.
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"De 19-jarige student Tarik Z.,die donderdag de NOS-studio's binnendrong, blijft nog zeker veertien dagen vastzitten. Dat heeft de rechter-commissaris in Lelystad vrijdag beslist..." http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/38/MEDIA/article/detail/3840435/2015/01/30/NOS-overvaller-Tarik-Z-19-wilde-grote-wereldzaken-bespreken.dhtml
Zijn vader zou van Tunesische of Egyptische komaf zijn. http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/38/MEDIA/article/detail/3841012/2015/01/30/Profiel-Wie-is-Tarik-Z.dhtml
"Tarik is inmiddels gehoord door de politie en heeft verklaard ook niet vanuit een terroristische organisatie te hebben gehandeld. Er was volgens hem geen sprake van een cyberaanval. Ook zijn er geen explosieven geplaatst.
Het wapen dat de 19-jarige jongen bij zich droeg, was een nepwapen dat niet met echt te onderscheiden was..."
MIM: Tarik has been interrogated by the police and has declared that he did not act on behalf of a terrorist organisation and that he acted alone. There was according to him no talk of a cyber attack. Also no explosives were placed.
The weapon that the 19 year old youth carried was a fake weapon which could not be told apart from a real one..."
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"...According to unconfirmed reports on social media, the man identified as Zahzah is a chemistry student at Delft University of Technology. It has been reported in Dutch media that his mother is Dutch and his father is Egyptian. His parents are divorced, it has been reported, and he lives with his mother and stepfather.
The TV station has claimed that he was interested in conspiracy theories. "He became immersed in things, and often lived in his own world", a former schoolmate told the network. "In recent years he was also preoccupied with conspiracy theories about Freemasonry and the New World Order."..."
"...He was caught on camera walking up and down the studio holding a replica pistol and talking to a security guard. "There are major world affairs which we want to bring to the public," he said. "We have been hired in by the security services. There we have heard things which call society into question."..."
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Gunman Storms Dutch TV Studio, Demands Airtime
Gunman arrested in studio of Dutch news broadcaster NOS after disrupting the main evening news program.A gunman was arrested on Thursday in one of the studios of Dutch news broadcaster NOS after disrupting the main evening news and reportedly demanding airtime.
According to the BBC, staff were evacuated from the building, located in the Media Park in the central city of Hilversum.
The man, smartly dressed and carrying a long pistol, paced around a studio that appeared to be empty, according to the report.
When armed police confronted him, he dropped the gun and was overpowered.
During the disruption to the NOS news program, the channel broadcast a message reading, "In connection with circumstances, no broadcast is available at this time".
The man's motive is still unclear. The NOS footage shows him saying, "The things that are going to be said [pause] - those are very large world affairs. We were hired by the security service."
A threatening letter the gunman allegedly gave to staff, warning of bomb and cyber attacks if he was prevented from going on air, has been published on the NOS website in Dutch.
A reporter who spoke to the man said he had claimed to be from a "hackers' collective", according to reports.
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