Netherlands: An ex-employee of a Heineken subsidiary shot two Dutch beer directors

A spokesperson for the Dutch brewer Heineken confirmed on December 13 that a former employee of a subsidiary of Heineken shot and seriously wounded two Dutch managers during a staff party on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion on December 11, according to Expatica News.

The injured Dutch men were partially identified as the 45-year-old director and the 35-year-old financial director of brewery 'De Bourbon'. The financial director is in particularly serious condition. He was shot in the neck. The wife of a local employee was also injured. The motive behind the shooting remains unclear, but it appears the gunman, Jean-Philippe Baptiste, 49, had a blacklist of people he wanted to take revenge on.

Baptiste was shot dead as police attempted to arrest him, local newspaper 'Clicanoo' said. He worked under contract with the brewery until 2001.

Réunion is an overseas department of France and is east of Madagascar. Some 300 staff and family members were at the party when the gunman walked in and took aim at the directors.

14 December, 2005