A Turkish-born man has been arrested in a manhunt after police say someone fired on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht, killing three and wounding five.
Police arrested Gokmen Tanis, 37, who had reportedly fought in the Russian republic of Chechnya. The region has long been a hotbed of activity by terrorist groups, including those aligned with the Islamic State.
Dutch anti-terrorism co-ordinator Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said: “We cannot exclude a terrorist motive.”
Schools across the region were closed and trains were not allowed to run through the city’s central station as security was ratcheted up throughout the city Monday. Authorities also ordered evacuations of mosques across Utrecht.
Police released a photo of Tanis but then took it down from Twitter. Utrecht police confirmed via the social network that it was Tanis who had been apprehended.
As reported in the press conference: The police arrested a man for his involvement in the shooting at the #24oktoberplein in #Utrecht.
— Politie Utrecht (@PolitieUtrecht) March 18, 2019
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte described the reaction to the attack as “a mixture of disbelief and horror.”
“Violence has hit innocent people,” Rutte said. “Our thoughts are with them and their relatives whose lives today have been turned on their heads. An act of terror is an attack on our civilization, on our tolerant and open society.”
The shooting comes days after shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand that killed at least 50 people.
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