Gokmen Tanis: Utrecht shootings suspect accused of rape, jailed for burglary and cleared of manslaughter

Officials reveal 37-year-old held after tram killings due to stand trial later this year – as another man arrested over incident

A man suspected of killing three people and wounding seven others on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht has previously been accused of rape and has a string of convictions behind him, officials have revealed.

It came as police said they had arrested another man over the incident. Officers said in a statement late on Tuesday that the 40-year-old had been arrested in the afternoon by heavily-armed officers in Utrecht.

They said the man was “suspected of involvement in the shooting. His role is under further investigation”. Two other men arrested following the killings have since been released.

Principal suspect Gokmen Tanis was accused of rape in 2017, and has spent two brief spells in jail, with a trial scheduled for later this year, authorities said earlier on Tuesday.

In 2014, he was acquitted of manslaughter but convicted of possession of an illegal weapon.

Last year he was convicted of shoplifting and burglary and jailed for four months for the burglary and a week for the shop theft, but has not served any time yet.

The 37-year-old, of Turkish descent, is being held on suspicion of “manslaughter with terrorist intent” after the Utrecht attack, although authorities have not ruled out other possible motives.

The nature of the shootings and a note found in a suspected getaway car suggest a possible terror motive, prosecutors said.

They did not elaborate on what was in the note but anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, speaking in parliament, said it expressed support for the suspect’s “Muslim brothers”.

Prosecutors said investigations had not established any relationship between Tanis and the victims.

Those killed were a 19-year-old woman from the town of Vianen and men aged 28 and 49, both from Utrecht.

One of the men was a father of three who volunteered as a football coach in nearby Vleuten.

The football club said it had heard “with great dismay and astonishment” that the trainer of an under-19 boys’ team and under-11 girls’ team had died.

Three other people were seriously wounded and four suffered light injuries, according to prosecutors.

Tanis was detained from August to September 2017 after being accused of rape, and then again from 4 January this year because he refused to work with authorities investigating the case.

He was released on 1 March after pledging to cooperate, and his trial is scheduled for 15 July.

Additional reporting by agencies