Hunt on for Turk tram ‘terrorist’

ONE PERSON was feared dead and several suffered gunshot wounds yesterday in a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht and a search was under way for the gunman in an incident authorities said appeared to be a terrorist attack.

Dutch police said they were looking for a 37-year-old Turkish man, Gokman Tanis, in connection with the shooting, which was believed to have left at least one person dead.

Authorities raised the terrorism threat to its highest level in Utrecht province, schools were told to shut their doors and paramilitary police increased security at Dutch airports and other vital infrastructure. Security was stepped up at mosques.

“There was a shooting at several locations,” Counter-Terrorism Agency head Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said.

“A lot is still unclear at this point and local authorities are working hard to establish the facts. What we already know is that a culprit is at large.”

Aalbersberg, who said the shooting “appears to be a terrorist attack”, declined to comment on the number of injured or on their condition and did not confirm any deaths.

Local broadcaster RTV Utrecht quoted a witness of the tram incident as saying he had seen a woman lying on the ground amid some kind of confrontation and several men running away from the scene.

A reporter for Dutch broadcaster NOS said a white sheet had been placed over a body near the tram where the shooting had taken place.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte convened crisis talks, saying he was deeply concerned about the incident, which came three days after a lone gunman killed 50 people in mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Utrecht, the Netherlands’ fourth largest city with a population of about 340 000, is known for its picturesque canals and large student population.

Police said the tram station stop in a square outside the city centre had been cordoned off. Emergency services were at the scene.