Utrecht shooting: Dutch police arrest suspect in deadly tram attack

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Utrecht shooting: Armed police hunt for gunman after attack on tram

Dutch police have arrested a man suspected of killing at least three people in a shooting on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht.

Following the shooting authorities in the Netherlands immediately raised the terror alert for the area to the maximum level, schools were told to shut their doors and paramilitary police increased security at airports and other vital infrastructure and also at mosques.

Police said the suspect, 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis, who was born in Turkey, had been taken into custody after an hours-long manhunt.

At the end of a news conference on Monday evening, police chief Rob van Bree told reporters: “I just heard that the suspect we were hunting has been arrested.”

Hours after the shooting, the gunman’s motive remained unclear.

A prosecutor said it could be for “family reasons” and Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency, quoting relatives of the gunman, said he had fired at a relative on the tram and had then shot at others who tried to help her.

Utrecht mayor Jan van Zanen said three people were killed and police put the number of wounded at five.

“We cannot exclude, even stronger, we assume a terror motive. Likely there is one attacker, but there could be more,” Mr van Zanen said.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said “a terror motive is not excluded” and went on to say the attack was met throughout the country with “a mix of disbelief and disgust”.

“If it is a terror attack, then we have only one answer: Our nation, democracy, must be stronger that fanaticism and violence,” he added.

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Key Points

• At least three people killed, mayor says
• Police say suspect has been arrested
• Authorities say there may have been a 'terrorist motive'
• Prime minister Mark Rutte says he is 'deeply concerned'

[18 March 2019 10:55 · Samuel Osborne]

[18 March 2019 10:58 · Samuel Osborne]

Police said "several shots were fired in a tram and several people were injured" in the city of Utrecht. 

Spokesman Joost Lanshage said: "Helicopters are at the scene and no arrests have been made."

[18 March 2019 11:02 · Samuel Osborne]

Dutch police have said they are considering the possibility of a "terrorist motive" behind the shooting.

[18 March 2019 11:05 · Samuel Osborne]

The Dutch government will hold crisis talks to discuss the shooting in Utrecht, prime minister Mark Rutte has said.

Mr Rutte said he was "deeply concerned" about the shooting.

[18 March 2019 11:10 · Samuel Osborne]

Local broadcaster RTV Utrecht quoted an eyewitness as saying he had seen a woman lying on the ground amid some kind of confrontation.

Several men ran away from the scene, the witness said.

[18 March 2019 11:14 · Samuel Osborne]

The Dutch anti-terrorism coordinator is holding a crisis meeting in response to the shooting, local media reported.

[18 March 2019 11:19 · Samuel Osborne]

Dutch police suspect at least one fatality from the shooting in Utrecht, a spokeswoman has said.

[18 March 2019 11:23 · Samuel Osborne]

Dutch radio has said security has been increased at the seat of the government in The Hague.

[18 March 2019 11:28 · Samuel Osborne]

Police have instructed schools in the city of Utrecht to keep their doors closed, Dutch media reports.

[18 March 2019 11:30 · Samuel Osborne]

Dutch authorities have raised Utrecht's terrorism threat level to its highest.