De Naald Attack: 8th Person Dies

An eighth person has died in the wake of the assassination attempt on the Dutch Royal Family. (See here for full details on the attack.)



De Naald (in English The Needle), is the obelisk monument in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn that became the final resting place for Karst Tates' automobile.

A woman died of her injuries more than a week after a man plowed his car into a crowd during a parade, becoming the seventh victim of a failed attack (#8 when the attacker is counted) on the Dutch royal family, authorities said Saturday, May 9, 2009.

The 46-year-old woman, whose identity was not released, was among about a dozen people struck down in the April 30 attack. Apeldoorn municipality spokesman Toon Schuiling said she died Friday night, May 8, 2009, in a hospital, the same evening as more than 1,000 people gathered for a memorial service.

Five bystanders died on the day of the April 30 attack near Het Loo palace in Apeldoorn and another died the following day. The car's driver also died. Four other people remain hospitalized.

The car rammed into a stone monument (the Masonic structure pictured above) after speeding through the crowd, narrowly missing an open-topped bus carrying Queen Beatrix and other royal family members.

Police say the car's driver, identified by Dutch media as Karst Tates, admitted attempting to attack the popular monarch shortly after his car came to a halt. He did not give a motive.

The attack on the Queen's Day national holiday raised questions in the Netherlands about the level of security surrounding the royal family.

For more on the symbolic linkages, copycat evidence, and video concerning this attack, please click here.