1 dead as gunman opens fire at Dutch tram
UTRECHT: A gunman opened fire on a tram here yesterday, killing one person and wounding several others in what officials said was a possible terrorist attack.
Armed counter-terrorism police launched a huge manhunt for the attacker, urging residents to stay indoors.
Police released a picture of the Turkish-born suspect, naming him as 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis, and warning people not to approach him.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the incident, just days ahead of local elections, was “deeply disturbing” and police stepped up security at mosques and airports.
A body covered in a sheet could be seen on the tracks in Utrecht as police and emergency services swarmed around the scene, while helicopters hovered overhead.
“We cannot exclude a terrorist motive,” the head of the Dutch national counter-terrorism service, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, said before rushing off for a crisis meeting.
Aalbersberg said there had been shooting at “several locations” but did not give further details.
“A major police operation is under way to arrest the gunman,” he added.
The terror alert level in Utrecht was raised to maximum level five, he added.
Police later surrounded a building a few hundred metres away, but it was not clear if the gunman was inside.
Police said the shooting took place on a tram in the 24 Oktoberplein area of the city and that “a possible terrorist motive is part of the investigation”.
“Multiple people have been injured. The surrounding area has been cordoned off and we are investigating the matter... Several trauma helicopters have been deployed to provide help.”
One witness told NOS News he had seen an injured person running out of the tram with blood on her hands and clothes and who then fell to the ground.
“I took her into my car and helped her. When the police arrived, she was unconscious,” the witness, who was not named, told the broadcaster.
The Dutch military police said they were on “high alert” and were boosting security at the airports and at other vital buildings.
Mosques had shut for the day following the attack, the ANP news agency said, which comes just days after 50 people were killed at mosques in New Zealand in a rampage by an alleged white supremacist.
All major political parties, including Rutte’s VVD, announced that they were suspending campaigning ahead of tomorrow’s local elections, which will determine the make-up of the Senate.
Rutte also cancelled a meeting with his ruling coalition and was being briefed on the situation, officials said.