At least 3 killed, several injured in Dutch tram shooting, terror motive possible: Police

A shooting on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht has left at least three persons dead and nine others injured, with police saying the incident may have had a “terrorist motive.”

At this stage, we can confirm three deaths and nine wounded, three of them seriously," Utrecht Mayor Jan van Zanen said in a video statement on Twitter.

Police say the shooting occurred in Oktoberplein district in the central part of Utrecht on Monday and that the suspected gunman is at large.

Following the incident, Dutch authorities put a square around The October 21st square, a tram station outside downtown Utrecht, on lockdown and cordoned off the area and adjacent streets.

Schools have been ordered to shut their doors and paramilitary police increased security at airports and other vital infrastructure, according to media reports.

Police said they were looking for a 37-year-old Turkish man in connection with the shooting.

"The police ask you to watch out for 37-year-old Gokman Tanis (born in Turkey) in connection with this morning's incident," a police statement said.

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

“A man started shooting wildly," the eyewitness said, adding that several men ran away from the scene.

It is still unclear if the shooter acted alone or had accomplices, with police saying they were looking at all plausible motives for the shooting. 

Police raised the terrorism threat to its highest level in Utrecht province and security was stepped up at mosques, in the wake of recent terrorist attacks on Muslim mosques  in New Zealand that left 50 dead and dozens of others injured.   

Utrecht is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands and is known for its picturesque canals and large student population. Gun killings are rare in Utrecht, as elsewhere in the north European country.  

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was quoted by Reuters as saying that all efforts are focused on catching the "suspect or suspects" responsible for Utrecht shooting.

Rutte did not repeat earlier comments by counter-terrorism authorities who suggested the shooting may have a terrorist motive, but said, "Our country today has been jolted by an attack in Utrecht."

The Dutch prime minister added 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."

Suspect in Utrecht shooting arrested

Hours later, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported that the country's police has arrested a Turkish man suspected in the Utrecht shooting, which left three people dead and nine more wounded.

The suspect had earlier been identified by police as 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis.

Speaking at a press conference, prosecutor Rutger Jeuken confirmed that the suspect had previous run-ins with law enforcement.

Jeuken added that the Turkish-born man had previously been arrested, without giving further details.

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