Utrecht shooting: Armed police hunt for gunman after attack on tram
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails
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 attackShow all 30 1 /30Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Special Police Forces inspect a tram, after a shooting took place on a tram at the 24 Oktoberplace in Utrecht
EPA
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack This image made available from the Twitter page of Police Utrecht shows an image of 37-year-old Gokman Tanis who police are looking for in connection with the tram shooting incident
Police Utrecht/AP
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
AFP/Getty
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Police, including heavily armed officers, flooded the area after the shooting Monday morning on a tram at a busy traffic intersection in a residential neighborhood
AFP/Getty/Twitter/michadrost
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Dutch counter terrorism police use a robot as they prepare to enter a house
AP
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Dutch counter terrorism police prepare to enter a house after a shooting incident in Utrecht
AP
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Forensic police search the interior of the tram
EPA
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack An armed Police officer patrols at a train station in Rotterdam
EPA
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Special Police forces inspect a tram
AFP/Getty
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
AFP/Getty/Twitter/michadrost
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Police officer with a service dog
Reuters
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack According to the the Dutch Police, several people have been injured and the perpetrator is still at large
EPA
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Members of the military police stand guard around the Binnenhof, The Hague
AFP/Getty
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Rescue workers install a screen
AP
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Several people were wounded on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht
Sky News
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Police forces walk near a tram
AFP/Getty
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
Reuters
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Police secure the site
Reuters
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Members of the military police arrive to heighten security around the Binnenhof, The Hague
EPA
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Local media reported counter-terrorism police at the scene
AFP/Getty
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack A body lays next to a tram as emergency services attend the scene
AP
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack Armed police at the scene
EPA
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
EPA
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
Martijn van der Zande/AP
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack "Shooting incident... Several injured people reported. Assistance started," the Utrecht police Twitter account said. "It is a shooting incident in a tram. Several trauma helicopters have been deployed to provide help."
EPA
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
AFP/Getty
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
Martijn van der Zande/AP
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
AFP/Getty
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
Lilian Bruigom/AP
Utrecht shooting: Man opens fire on passengers in Dutch tram attack
EPA
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.
Follow how we covered the story live
Show latest update 1552906509 Samuel Osborne 18 March 2019 10:55
1552906738 Police said "several shots were fired in a tram and several people were injured" in the city of Utrecht.
Spokesman Joost Lanshage said: "Helicopters are at the scene and no arrests have been made."
Samuel Osborne 18 March 2019 10:58
1552906926 Dutch police have said they are considering the possibility of a "terrorist motive" behind the shooting.
Samuel Osborne 18 March 2019 11:02
1552907125 The Dutch government will hold crisis talks to discuss the shooting in Utrecht, prime minister Mark Rutte has said.
Mr Rutte said he was "deeply concerned" about the shooting.
Samuel Osborne 18 March 2019 11:05
1552907404 Local broadcaster RTV Utrecht quoted an eyewitness as saying he had seen a woman lying on the ground amid some kind of confrontation.
Several men ran away from the scene, the witness said.
Samuel Osborne 18 March 2019 11:10
1552907659 The Dutch anti-terrorism coordinator is holding a crisis meeting in response to the shooting, local media reported.
Samuel Osborne 18 March 2019 11:14
1552907957 Dutch police suspect at least one fatality from the shooting in Utrecht, a spokeswoman has said.
Samuel Osborne 18 March 2019 11:19
1552908237 Dutch radio has said security has been increased at the seat of the government in The Hague.
Samuel Osborne 18 March 2019 11:23
1552908517 Police have instructed schools in the city of Utrecht to keep their doors closed, Dutch media reports.
Samuel Osborne 18 March 2019 11:28
1552908652 Dutch authorities have raised Utrecht's terrorism threat level to its highest.
Samuel Osborne 18 March 2019 11:30
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies