Cause of death Suicide Died May 12, 1987, Belgium Occupation Unemployed Injured 3 | Weapons .22-caliber rifle Killed 7 Name Michel Wijnendaele | |
Full Name Michel Van Wijnendaele Date May 12, 1987
2 p.m. – 7 p.m. Location(s) Bogaarden & Denderwindeke, Belgium | ||
Michel Van Wijnendaele was a Belgian mass murderer who killed seven people in Bogaarden, Belgium on May 12, 1987. He also wounded three others, before committing suicide.
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Shooting
At approximately 2:00 p.m., Van Wijnendaele, armed with a .22-caliber rifle, entered a farm in Bogaarden, where he shot dead Jean Baptiste and Margriet Nechelput, their daughter, Liliane De Crem, her husband, Edgard, as well as their son, Christian, and also wounded another son of the De Crem's with a shot in the stomach after a short scuffle. At a neighbouring farm he killed a woman and her son, apparently because they had witnessed the shooting, and then fled the scene in his car. While police set up roadblocks to capture the gunman, he made his way to Denderwindeke, where he shot and wounded his parents-in-law three or four hours later.
Van Wijnendaele was eventually spotted by police in Brugelette, as he was filling his car at a gas station. A car chase ensued that ended at about 7:00 p.m. when the 28-year-old was cornered by police in Sirault, near Mons, whereupon he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.