Gunman who killed three, injured several others in Dutch ‘terror attack’ caught
A Turkish man has been arrested over a shooting in the Netherlands which left three people dead, five injured, and sparked a major terror alert.
Gokmen Tanis, 37, was arrested by Dutch police several hours after three people were shot dead on a tram in the university city of Utrecht in the central Netherlands.
The victims are yet to be publicly identified.
The shooting, which happened at 10.45am on Monday morning local time (8.45pm Monday night AEDT) sparked a major terror alert, with Utrecht’s terror threat level raised to the highest possible setting, armed police sent to airports and government buildings and local schools placed on lockdown.
Tanis’ family told Turkish media outlet Anadolu he had “family issues’’ and that a female relative had been shot, along with people who came to her aid.
Utrecht police responded by tweeting they had seen reports of “information about possible other motives around the incident this morning to the #24oktoberplein in #Utrecht. We can only say that we do not currently exclude anything.’’
The police asks you to look out for the 37 year old Gökman Tanis (born in Turkey) associated with the incident this morning at the #24oktoberplein in #Utrecht. Do not approach him but call 0800-6070. pic.twitter.com/U1IWEDtUYu
— Politie Utrecht (@PolitieUtrecht) March 18, 2019
The shooting occurred on a tram at the 24 OctoberSquare, near a residential area outside the city centre, and police converged on an apartment building close by.
They also released a still image from a CCTV, apparently showing Tanis aboard a tram, and asked the public for information about him.
A police dog wearing a protective vest and a police robot designed to dismantle explosive devices was sent into the building, and police announced a short time later they had made an arrest.
“The accused of involvement in the possible attack on it #24oktoberplein was detained during a raid in the Old Town in Utrecht,’’ they said. Police said within an hour of the shooting they were investigating whether terrorism was a motive, and have yet to clarify the reasons behind the attack.
It is claimed Tanis fled the scene in a stolen car, which was later found abandoned.
Dutch media is reporting that Tanis had been expected to appear in court on March 4 over an alleged case of rape in which a female was sexually assaulted several times, and a threat was made to burn down her house.
He has also, according to Dutch media, had other problems with the law including an incident in 2013 where he was accused of attempted manslaughter, burglary, assaulting police and more minor shoplifting and drink-driving matters.
Utrecht, a city of about 350,000 people, is around 45 minutes’ drive south of the capital Amsterdam, and is best known for its famous university, which is almost 400 years old, and its pretty canals. Police had earlier said they were searching for Turkish-born suspect Gökman Tanis, 37, and issued a picture of him.
Police showed the picture of a bearded man sitting on public transport and dressed in a dark blue top with a hood tucked in his neck.
It was the first image distributed of someone linked to the shooting. Police had asked citizens to call authorities with any information and to report any suspicious situation via toll free and emergency numbers.
Earlier, police surrounded a building where the suspected gunman “with a possible terror motive” was said to be holed up.
Police raised the terror alert in Utrecht to its maximum level and put local schools into lockdown as gunshots were reported in several areas of the university town, which is located about 45 minutes’ drive south of the capital Amsterdam. Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, the head of the Dutch counter-terrorism agency, said in a statement that the “threat level has gone to 5, exclusively for the Utrecht province,” referring to the highest level, adding that the shooting “appears to be a terrorist attack”.
The incident happened at the 24 October Square tram stop.
The police issued social media appeals asking people to clear the area to allow emergency services vehicles to access the scene.
“The surrounding area has been cordoned off and we are investigating the matter.’’
Three trauma helicopters arrived at the scene, as well as the police anti-terrorism unit.
The square where the shooting occurred is named after the United Nations, which was signed into existence on October 24, 1945.
https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/gunman-opens-fire-on-dutch-tram-several-hurt/news-story/7f38d3a3607a7ae6a800626cf6b0a08b