Man Kills 6 and Himself with Car In Assassination Attempt on Queen Beatrix

A car ploughs through spectators in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, Thursday, April 30, 2009. The speeding car raced toward an open bus carrying Queen Beatrix and her family, during celebrations for the national Queen's Day holiday, careening through spectators. Dutch television says two people were killed and about a dozen injured. The small black car appeared to be deliberately heading at high speed toward the royal bus and passed within a few meters before it plowed into a stone monument. About 20 people were seen flying through the air after the car swerved across police railings, where crowds of people lined five or six deep to see the royal family pass on its way to a palace on Thursday. The TV put the number of casualties at 14. (AP Photo/Robin Utrecht, Pool) bc30

The attacker is in critical condition and apparently the attack was an assassination attempt on the Royal Family. Now its seven dead including the driver.

APELDOORN, Netherlands (Reuters) - A Dutchman deliberately drove his car toward an open bus carrying Queen Beatrix and her family on Thursday, killing five people and injuring 12 in a crowd watching the parade.

The black car driven by the 38-year-old missed the bus by four or five meters before slamming into a stone monument in central Apeldoorn, about 90 km (56 miles) east of Amsterdam.

Members of the royal family looked on in horror as the small Suzuki hurtled past and the popular Queen appeared visibly shaken when she appeared later on television on the Queen's Day national holiday.

"What started as a beautiful day has ended in terrible drama, which has shocked us deeply," Beatrix, 71, said in a brief address. She canceled further official festivities.