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Gunman Attacks Tram Passengers in Utrecht, Dutch Police Say Gunman Aboard a Tram Kills 3 in Utrecht, Netherlands
(32 minutes later)
A shooting attack on Monday in the Dutch city of Utrecht that left several people injured was being investigated as a possible case of terrorism, the authorities said, and the police were focusing their hunt on a gunman who escaped the scene. Three people died and nine were injured on Monday in a shooting on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht, which the authorities called a possible terrorist attack, and a manhunt was underway for a gunman who escaped the scene.
The Netherlands’ main counterterrorism agency raised its assessment of the threat in Utrecht province, just southeast of Amsterdam, to the highest level, and said it had activated a crisis team. The Dutch paramilitary police increased security at airports and other vital infrastructure points.The Netherlands’ main counterterrorism agency raised its assessment of the threat in Utrecht province, just southeast of Amsterdam, to the highest level, and said it had activated a crisis team. The Dutch paramilitary police increased security at airports and other vital infrastructure points.
The Utrecht Police said they were looking for Gokmen Tanis, 37, who was born in Turkey; they did not call him a suspect, but said he was “associated with the incident,” and warned people not to approach him.The Utrecht Police said they were looking for Gokmen Tanis, 37, who was born in Turkey; they did not call him a suspect, but said he was “associated with the incident,” and warned people not to approach him.
All the mosques in Utrecht were ordered evacuated, and security was increased at mosques elsewhere in the Netherlands. It was not clear whether those moves stemmed from a clear anti-Muslim threat, or if they were a precaution in the wake of the attacks on mosques last week in Christchurch, New Zealand that killed 50 people. Three people were dead and nine were wounded, three of them seriously, the mayor of Utrecht, Jan van Zanen, said in a video he posted to Twitter. Unlike the police, he called Mr. Tanis a suspect.
“We are working on the assumption of a terrorist motive,” Mr. van Zanen said. “We think there is just one perpetrator, but we cannot exclude the possibly of there being several perpetrators.”
All the mosques in Utrecht were ordered evacuated, and security was increased at mosques elsewhere in the Netherlands. It was not clear whether those moves stemmed from any specific threat, or if they were a precaution in the wake of the attacks on mosques last week in Christchurch, New Zealand that killed 50 people.
Trauma helicopters were sent to the scene, the Utrecht Police said on Twitter, and trams in the city were shut down while the authorities investigated the attacker and searched for those responsible. The authorities urged people to avoid the area to allow aid workers to reach the site of the attack at October 24 Square.Trauma helicopters were sent to the scene, the Utrecht Police said on Twitter, and trams in the city were shut down while the authorities investigated the attacker and searched for those responsible. The authorities urged people to avoid the area to allow aid workers to reach the site of the attack at October 24 Square.
There were no confirmed fatalities, but photographs taken by witnesses and shared on social media appeared to show a body covered by a white cloth on the ground near the stopped tram.
Local media reported that a gunman fled the scene after the attack, which took place around 10:45 a.m., and might have escaped in a car, and heavily armed police had assembled outside a building near the site of the attack, The Associated Press reported.Local media reported that a gunman fled the scene after the attack, which took place around 10:45 a.m., and might have escaped in a car, and heavily armed police had assembled outside a building near the site of the attack, The Associated Press reported.
The University Medical Center Utrecht opened a specialized disaster unit in response to the shooting. Prime Minister Mark Rutte interrupted a weekly cabinet meeting to monitor the situation, several news outlets reported.The University Medical Center Utrecht opened a specialized disaster unit in response to the shooting. Prime Minister Mark Rutte interrupted a weekly cabinet meeting to monitor the situation, several news outlets reported.
Utrecht, about 25 miles from Amsterdam, has a population of about 330,000.Utrecht, about 25 miles from Amsterdam, has a population of about 330,000.
By midday there had been no arrests. Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, the national coordinator for antiterrorism and security, said the manhunt was focused on a single individual, although a witness. By mid-afternoon there had been no arrests.
Jimmy de Koster, told the television station RTV Utrecht that he was at the square, heard gunfire and saw a young woman, apparently wounded, lying on the ground. Jimmy de Koster, a witness, told the television station RTV Utrecht that he was at the square, heard gunfire and saw a young woman, apparently wounded, lying on the ground.
“Four men walked very fast toward her and tried to drag her away,” he said. More shots were then fired, he said, and the men left.“Four men walked very fast toward her and tried to drag her away,” he said. More shots were then fired, he said, and the men left.
The attack took place in the Kanaleneiland neighborhood in Utrecht, which is home to a large Muslim community, but it was not clear whether that influenced the decision of gunman to open fire when and where he did.The attack took place in the Kanaleneiland neighborhood in Utrecht, which is home to a large Muslim community, but it was not clear whether that influenced the decision of gunman to open fire when and where he did.
“It could point at a jihadist motive, because of the large number of Dutch people with Moroccan roots who live there,” said Bart Schuurman, an assistant professor at Leiden University, who researches terrorism in the Netherlands. “But it could as well be chosen by a right-extremist just because of those demographics. Or it could have nothing to do with terrorism.” Unlike Britain, Belgium, France and Germany, the Netherlands had not had a major terrorist attack in recent years. But the Dutch police said in September that they had foiled “very advanced” plans for a coordinated series of attacks, arresting seven men and seizing guns and bomb-making materials.
Unlike Britain, Belgium, France and Germany, the Netherlands has not had a major terrorist attack in recent years. But the Dutch police said in September that they had foiled “very advanced” plans for a coordinated series of attacks, arresting seven men and seizing guns and bomb-making materials. Pieter Jaap Aalbersberg, the national coordinator for antiterrorism and security, said the terror alert was limited to Utrecht province and that the authorities were debating whether to expand it to the country as a whole.
Mr. Aalbersberg said the terror alert was limited to Utrecht province and that the authorities were debating whether to expand it to the country as a whole.