Armed 69-Year-Old ‘Antifascist’ Shot Dead After Firebombing Immigration Centre
Never forget that crazy, evil people exist at both ends of the political spectrum, and times like these draw them all out.
The police fatally shot a man who was attacking an immigration detention center in Tacoma, Wash., on Saturday morning, the authorities said.
The man, who was armed with a rifle, was throwing unspecified “incendiary devices” at the Northwest Detention Center, according to a police statement. The man, identified by officials on Saturday afternoon as Willem Van Spronsen, 69, of Vashon Island, Wash., continued throwing lit objects at buildings and cars, the statement said.
“One car was fully engulfed in flames,” said Officer Loretta Cool, a spokeswoman for the Tacoma Police Department. “He was also trying to ignite a big propane tank but he was not successful.”
Officers confirmed Van Spronsen was shot dead at the scene, with all four attending officers discharging their weapons.
He was described locally as a committed anarchist and antifascist. One friend of twenty years, Deb Bartley, told The Seattle Times she and others had received letters from him which read “just saying goodbye” along with what she described as a manifesto.
She added: “I think this was a suicide. But then he was able to kind of do it in a way that spoke to his political beliefs… I know he went down there knowing he was going to die.”
More: Armed 69-year-old ‘antifascist’ shot dead after firebombing immigration centre