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 15:53 · Samuel Osborne]

Dutch television has shown footage of counter-terrorism police surrounding a house in Utrecht, but there was no official confirmation the gunman might be inside.

[18 March 2019 16:18 · Tom Batchelor]

An update on the possible motive from Turkey's Anadolu news agency, which has claimed the gunman fired shots at a relative on the tram "due to family reasons". 

This would fit with a report in the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper which, citing a witness, said the gunman had targeted one woman on the tram and then shot other people who had tried to help her.

Notably, Mark Rutte, the Dutch PM, did not repeat earlier suggestions that the shooting may have had a terrorist motive when he gave an updated statement this afternoon. 

But there has been no official confirmation that the shooting was a domestic incident and the latest line from the police is that terrorism is still a possible motive. We will bring more updates on this as we get them.

[18 March 2019 16:40 · Tom Batchelor]

The Dutch government has extended its highest terrorism threat level for the province of Utrecht until at least 10pm local time (2100 GMT).

[18 March 2019 17:14 · Samuel Osborne]

Witness Daan Molenaar, who said he had been sitting at the front of the tram when the shooting started, told national broadcaster NOS he did not believe it was a terrorist attack.

"The first thing I thought was, this is some kind of revenge or something, or somebody who's really mad and grabbed a pistol," he said.

[18 March 2019 17:28 · Samuel Osborne]

The Utrecht shooting suspect had previous run-ins with police, the Dutch public prosecutor has said.

He also said the police have conducted raids in several places while searching for the suspect.

[18 March 2019 17:31 · Samuel Osborne]

The prosecutor also said the motive was still unclear, but could be "family reasons".

[18 March 2019 17:32 · Samuel Osborne]

The suspect in the Utrecht shooting has been arrested, public broadcaster NOS has reported.

[18 March 2019 17:36 · Samuel Osborne]

Utrecht's police chief has confirmed the suspect in the tram shooting has been arrested.

[18 March 2019 17:42 · Samuel Osborne]

"The chief suspect has been arrested," the city of Utrecht said in a tweet.

[18 March 2019 17:53 · Samuel Osborne]

The father of the suspect in the Utrecht tram shooting has said his son should be punished if he's to blame. 

Utrecht police earlier released a photo of 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis, a Turkish-born man who they said was "associated with the incident".

Mehmet Tanis, his father who lives in Turkey's central Kayseri province, told the private Demiroren news agency he hadn't spoken to his son in 11 years.

He said "if he did it, he should pay the penalty".

Separately, Turkey's official Anadolu news agency said the suspect's relatives believe he shot at someone close to the family due to "family issues".