Utrecht shooting: Dutch police arrest suspect in deadly tram attack
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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.
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
Show all 30A 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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German police said they have upped surveillance on the country's border with the Netherlands and are on the lookout for the gunman behind the shooting.
Heinrich Onstein, a spokesman for the federal police in the border state of North Rhine-Westphalia, told The Associated Press that additional police had been added to watch not only major highways, but also minor crossings as well as railway routes.
He said the federal police are in close contact with authorities in the Netherlands and have a description of the suspect.
He said German authorities were initially told to look out for a red Renault Clio compact sedan but now have been told it was found abandoned in Utrecht.
The suspect remains at large, the head of the Dutch counter-terrorism agency has said.
"In Utrecht there was a shooting at several locations," Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg told a news conference.
"A lot is still unclear at this point and local authorities are working hard to establish all the facts. What we already know is that a culprit is at large."
He declined to comment on the number of injured or what condition the victims were in.
After the shooting, Dutch political parties halted campaigning ahead of a provincial election scheduled for Wednesday that will also determine the makeup of the Dutch parliament's upper house.
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has described the shooting as "hugely concerning news".
He tweeted: "Hugely concerning news of a gunman opening fire on a tram in Utrecht, no doubt with innocent people just getting on with their day.
"We are in contact with Dutch authorities, urgently seeking further information.
"The UK stands with the people of the Netherlands."
Dutch police have said they are searching for a 37-year-old Turkish man named Gokman Tanis in connection with the shooting in Utrecht.
They warned the public not to approach him.
Trains are not being allowed into Utrecht Central station following the shooting.
Dutch military police are on high alert at Dutch airports and other key buildings in the country.
Dutch police have issued a correction, naming the suspect as Gokmen Tanis.
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has said all efforts were focused on catching the "suspect or suspects" responsible for the shooting in Utrecht.
Mr Rutte did not repeat earlier comments by counter-terrorism authorities who suggested the shooting may have a terrorist motive.
"Our country today has been jolted by an attack in Utrecht," Mr Rutte said in a statement.
"Police and prosecutors are looking into what exactly happened. What's known now is that there was shooting at people sitting in a tram in Utrecht, that there were wounded, and possibly deaths."
Utrecht's mayor has said three people were killed and nine others injured in the shooting.
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