Netherlands case has terror charge

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The suspect in a deadly tram shooting in the Dutch city of Utrecht will be charged with offenses including multiple murder or manslaughter with a terrorist intent, prosecutors said Thursday.

Investigations so far into Monday’s shooting that left three people dead and three seriously injured indicate that the shooter acted alone, prosecutors said in a written statement.

Gokmen Tanis, a 37-year-old man of Turkish descent, also faces charges of attempted murder or manslaughter and making threats with a terrorist intent.

The prosecution office statement adds that investigations are continuing into whether the suspect’s actions “flowed from personal problems combined with a radicalized ideology.”

The team investigating the shooting will ask a forensic psychiatry and psychology institute to carry out a personality test on the suspect.

Tanis is to appear before an investigating judge today. Such hearings are private.

A 40-year-old man detained Tuesday afternoon is still under investigation to establish “if he possibly had a supporting role, outside the shooting incident,” prosecutors said.

Two men and a woman were killed Monday when a shooter opened fire on a tram in Utrecht. Authorities put the Netherlands’ fourth-largest city in lockdown for hours over fears that there was more than one shooter at different locations.

The terror alert level also was raised from 4 to the maximum 5 while police hunted for the shooter. It was dropped to 4 once the suspect was detained.