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 11:34 · Samuel Osborne]

A reporter for Dutch national broadcaster NOS has said a white sheet had been placed over a body near the tram where the shooting took place.

[18 March 2019 11:40 · Samuel Osborne]

Security has been increased at schools, mosques and transportation hubs following the shooting.

[18 March 2019 11:46 · Samuel Osborne]

Police have erected a white tent over an area where a body appeared to be lying next to the tram in Utrecht. 

Earlier, photos showed what appeared to be a body lying under a white blanket. 

Police had said "multiple" people were wounded in the shooting.

[18 March 2019 11:50 · Samuel Osborne]

Dutch military police are on "extra alert" at airports and "vital buildings" due to the police manhunt in Utrecht.

[18 March 2019 11:57 · Samuel Osborne]

Dutch police have said they are looking for a least one person who might have fled by car. 

Spokesman Bernhard Jens said "one explanation is that the person fled by car."

He did not rule out the possibility that more than one person was involved. 

"We want to try to catch the person responsible as soon as possible," Mr Jens said.

[18 March 2019 12:03 · Samuel Osborne]

Dutch anti-terror coordinator Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said in a statement that the terror "threat level has gone to five, exclusively for the Utrecht province," referring to the highest level.

"The culprit is still on the run. A terror motive cannot be excluded," he said on Twitter.

He called on citizens to closely follow the indications of the local police.

[18 March 2019 12:07 · Samuel Osborne]

Heavily armed police have massed outside a building near the site of the tram shooting in Utrecht.

[18 March 2019 12:13 · Samuel Osborne]

Utrecht's mayor has called the shooting "a horrible and radical incident".

"I am in close contact with the police and the public prosecutor. With my chief of police and public prosecutor I can confirm that the police and public prosecutor are currently looking for the person or persons responsible for this incident," Jan van Zanen said.

"The most important thing at present is taking care of the wounded and investigating the circumstances of the incident. We do not exclude anything, not even a terrorist attack."

[18 March 2019 12:20 · Samuel Osborne]

One person has died and there are multiple injuries in the shooting on a tram in Utrecht, Dutch police have said.

[18 March 2019 12:27 · Samuel Osborne]

The head of the Dutch counter-terrorism agency has said there were shootings at "several" locations in Utrecht.