The 50-year-old suspect in the Weiteveen shooting – in which two people died – and his wife released a statement live on Facebook. This resulted in countless expressions of support for them. How is it possible?
Images of the suspect went viral across the country. In Facebook Live streams, the suspect and his wife said he was driven to his alleged act by sheer desperation.
“It seems like he wanted to take some sort of responsibility. To explain why he does what he does,” thinks criminologist Jasper van der Kemp. “It also looks like a suicide note. In the video, the suspect apologizes to his family. You also see it in people who commit suicide.”
Media psychologist Mischa Coster also sees the images as a defense or explanation of his alleged act. “But there can be multiple motivations for doing something like this. While for one person it may be a tactic to get a lesser sentence, for another it may be a way to plead guilty or express remorse. In the latter cases, such a live streaming can bring relief to a person. Then he or she will no longer have to carry the secret with them.”
The sharing statement is exceptional
The fact that a confession is shared in this way is exceptional, according to criminologist Van der Kemp. “There are examples of incidents themselves being filmed. For example, there are serial killers who record their actions, or record themselves talking about it before or after. Then often it’s out of a kind of narcissism, to show what the plan was or that they’re proud because they haven’t been discovered for a long time.”
But there are almost no subsequent statements like this anymore, as media lawyer Charlotte Meindersma also sees. “There are examples of young people filming themselves with a weapon or having themselves recorded beating someone. But that’s more about acting tough,” says the media advocate. “When people make a confession, there’s often a letter somewhere or they send a personal video. But most people don’t post it live on the social media.
Numerous expressions of support came in response to the images. People show understanding and call him a hero because he defends his family. A petition was even started to obtain the release of the suspect.
According to Meindersma, how this is possible has to do with people’s primary reaction to the video. “They only know her story and accept it as the truth, while the full story is not yet known,” she explains.
“They’re not afraid of him”
“The way the video was made definitely ensures that people aren’t afraid of him. In the video he indicates that he will not resist arrest”.
Coster understands that the video evokes empathy. “The video seems sincere, especially when it tells who he made it for,” she explains. Yet he believes the majority of people will condemn his alleged act. “But you don’t see it on social media. People respond from an emotion. If you can empathize with her story and her emotions, then you want to make her feel it,” she explains.
Against the police or authority
In comments on social media, many people accused the police of negligence. According to Coster, this may have to do with some degree of confirmation bias. “Then people already have something against the police or authority, so they are more likely to accept the statement because it fits their beliefs,” she explains.
Further investigation will have to reveal what exactly happened and what motivated the attacker. “Eventually it should become clear what this statement is worth. It’s about what happened and the evidence that proves it”, underlines Van der Kemp. “In any case, it will be clear to the Prosecutor that taking matters into his own hands is not good.”
Response of the police and the Prosecutor’s Office to the Weiteveen case
“This incident obviously has a big impact and therefore generates a lot of reactions. We have seen that there are reactions to the Weiteveen incident in different places in the (social) media. Images and stories are often shared, but this only reflects part of the background. This also provokes reactions, often towards the parties involved and in particular towards the suspect.
The police and the prosecutor are keen to underline that two people were killed. They leave behind young children and other family members. Yesterday’s incident has a strong impact on them and the reactions in the outside world make it even more painful. In consideration of the impact, we ask that the interests and feelings of surviving relatives and other affected parties be treated with respect.”
2024-01-18 05:29:00
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