Utrecht shooting: Several hurt as man opens fire in tram

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A man has opened fire in a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht, injuring several people, police have said.

A square near a tram station in the west of the city has been cordoned off by authorities, and emergency services are at the scene.
They have asked people to stay away to enable emergency workers to get through.

The gunman reportedly fled the scene by car. Police say they are investigating a "possible terrorist motive".

Local media report the Dutch anti-terrorism co-ordinator has called a meeting. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he was "deeply concerned".

The shooting took place around the 24 Oktoberplein junction at about 10:45 local time (09:45 GMT). Three helicopters have been despatched.

Security services have reportedly told Utrecht's University Medical Centre to open the dedicated emergency ward to help care for the injured.

"A man started shooting wildly," one eyewitness told Dutch news site NU.nl.

Another witness told Dutch public broadcaster NOS he saw an injured woman with blood on her hands and clothes.

"I brought her into my car and helped her," he said. "When the police arrived, she was unconscious."

It is unknown how many were injured or how seriously they were hurt.

Utrecht's transport authority said tram services in the city have all been cancelled.


Not a lot of information on this yet.

I wonder if this is retaliation for Christchurch, a copycat of it, or something else entirely.

Update:

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At least one person has died after a shooting on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht in an incident police are treating as a potential terrorist attack.

Officers have reported "multiple" injuries having been called to reports of a shooting in a residential neighbourhood on Monday morning.

Police said that although the investigation was still ongoing, terrorism was one possible motive. Local media reported the perpetrator escaped in a car.

Counter-terror officers are understood to be preparing a raid on a house in the Trumanlaan district, a few hundred yards from 24 Oktoberplein where the shooting took place.

All mosques in Utrecht have been evacuated and the Utrecht University and Utrecht Central train station are also on lockdown, according to NOS.
Three trauma helicopters were called to the scene and police have appealed for the public to keep the roads clear for emergency services.

According to Dutch paper the Telegraaf at least one anti-terror force has been called to the area and police are understood to be looking for a red car in connection with the incident, sources told RTV Utrecht.

A witness, Jimmy de Koster, told RTV Utrecht he saw a woman lying on the ground shouting: "I didn't do anything."

Four men rushed towards her in an attempt to drag her to safety, but a gunman opened fire again, forcing them to take cover, he said.

It was not immediately clear if it was a lone attacker or if it was a coordinated attack involving more than one gunman. Local news outlet AD said police were looking into other reported shootings at nearby locations and whether or not they are linked.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the Government and the country's anti-terrorism coordinator were holding a "crisis meeting" in the aftermath of the shooting.

He said the situation was "very worrying", and security was tightened at The Hague. Schools in the area have been told to keep their doors closed
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Mayor of Utrecht Jan van Zanen said: "Shortly before noon a shooting took place on a tram in Utrecht around 24 Octoberplein.  A horrible and radical incident in which victims have fallen.  My thoughts are with them and their loved ones.

"I am in close contact with the police and the public prosecutor... I can confirm that the police and the public prosecutor are currently looking for the person responsible for this incident.

"The most important thing at the moment is taking care of the wounded and investigating the circumstances of the incident. We do not exclude anything, not even a terrorist attack."
No arrests have been made.

STK wrote:

I wonder if this is retaliation for Christchurch, a copycat of it, or something else entirely.

I wonder that too. Also I can't believe many Mass Shootings there have been in the past few days, first Brazil, then New Zealand, now the Netherlands. I wonder if 2019 is going to be the year of non-American Mass Shootings?

Jeez. Another shooting? Hope they find this guy before he hurts more people.

STK wrote:

I wonder if this is retaliation for Christchurch, a copycat of it, or something else entirely.

If this is indeed retaliation for Christchurch, it is exactly what Tarrant wanted and I think it could really have an influence on the opinion of people. I have never seen so many people on mainstream websites denouncing the shooting at the mosques but also in the same time blaming multiculturalism and immigration for it, which quite surprised me. I don't know if it is islamic terrorism but if it is I think the date is poorly chosen. But maybe it is not, it may as well be just a mad person given that for the moment no witness testified hearing "Allah Akbar" or stuff like this.

Footage:

Police have released the name of a potential suspect, 37 year old Gökman Tanis:

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3 are now confirmed dead.

Was the tram stationary at the time of the shooting? It must have been particularly awful to be trapped in such a small place with no escape.

Apparently there have been several shootings at different places at Ultrecht but at the moment all I can find is the one in the tram.

I wonder what gun he used? My guess is a Handgun.

9 people have now been confirmed injured.

Neah wrote:

Apparently there have been several shootings at different places at Ultrecht but at the moment all I can find is the one in the tram.

They realized they were wrong, there was only one shooting.

London Evening Standard wrote:

Mayor Jan van Zanen said in a video tweeted by the Utrecht municipality that the earlier advice to remain indoors was based on fears that shots had been fired at more than one location in the city.

He now says "that is not the case, as far as we know".

Tommy QTR wrote:

9 people have now been confirmed injured.

The police revised the number to 5.

Evening Standard wrote:

A witness told Dutch newspaper AD that the gunman appeared to be focusing on one person.

Niels, 21, said: "He aimed at those people who tried to help that woman."

He added: "You heard about the plop-plop-plop sounds, as if there was a muffler on it. Then I saw people running outside, really for their lives.

"I felt that he was focusing specifically on someone because I saw a woman crawling out. Bystanders tried to pull her away, but when they did, that man went after her specially and aimed at those bystanders.”

I'm starting to think that it is domestic, not a terror attack.

Still me, I'm so lonely on this thread...

It seems that I was right:

Evening Standard wrote:

Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency is reporting the gunman involved in Monday's shooting fired at his relative over "family reasons" and later shot at others trying to help.

The news agency cited the gunman's relatives.

My guess is that if he's not caught/killed by the Police, he's either going to kill himself or try to flee country back to Turkey.

Tommy QTR wrote:

My guess is that if he's not caught/killed by the Police, he's either going to kill himself or try to flee country back to Turkey.

I don't know why but I don't see him killing himself. I have the impression that it is very mass shooting-y or American thing to do. Sure it is technically a mass shooting, but if it is for personal reasons it is different.

Apparently France and the UK don't care, I am trying to watch the press conference on news channel but in France they prefer to discuss the Yellow Vests and in the UK Brexit...

Neah wrote:

Tommy QTR wrote:

My guess is that if he's not caught/killed by the Police, he's either going to kill himself or try to flee country back to Turkey.

I don't know why but I don't see him killing himself. I have the impression that it is very mass shooting-y or American thing to do. Sure it is technically a mass shooting, but if it is for personal reasons it is different.

Apparently France and the UK don't care, I am trying to watch the press conference on news channel but in France they prefer to discuss the Yellow Vests and in the UK Brexit...

Well they are the main issues facing those countries, and I doubt major foreign News Outlets are going to cover a Tram Shooting in the Netherlands.

They've arrested him:

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Have they confirmed a motive yet ? I saw some people say he had been on security services radar for a while but then I saw other sources say that according to his family it wasn't terrorism related (although I'd take that with a grain of salt for now given that they are related to him).

Mh_12rm_66 wrote:

Have they confirmed a motive yet ? I saw some people say he had been on security services radar for a while but then I saw other sources say that according to his family it wasn't terrorism related (although I'd take that with a grain of salt for now given that they are related to him).

For the moment I can see nothing new. But I'm sure it was domestic. Apparently the police knew him for a rape case.

Neah wrote:

I don't know if it is islamic terrorism but if it is I think the date is poorly chosen. But maybe it is not, it may as well be just a mad person given that for the moment no witness testified hearing "Allah Akbar" or stuff like this.

In fact some witnesses apparently heard him shout "Allah Akbar". But people always think they heard that, even when it was not an act of terrorism.

He knew some people linked to an "extremist salafist sect" and seven years ago attempted a breaking and entering. Plus the case with the rape, that is all I can find at the moment.

Apparently they have arrested another man:

The Washington Post wrote:

Dutch police say they have arrested another man on suspicion of involvement in the deadly tram shooting in Utrecht.

Police said in a statement late Tuesday that the 40-year-old man was arrested in the afternoon by heavily armed officers in Utrecht.

They say the man “is suspected of involvement in the shooting. His role is under further investigation.”

So it is terrorism then it seems like. I wonder if his letter mentioned the New Zealand shooting, I have a feeling it probably did although thus far I don't think they've said specifically what it said

The death toll has risen to four as a 74 years old man who had been severely injured died.