Dutch shooting suspect arrested, questions remain about motive

Dutch police arrested a man of Turkish origin suspected of involvement in a shooting in Utrecht on Monday that killed three people and wounded five, city authorities said.

Dutch prosecutors and police said they were "seriously" investigating a terrorist motive for the Utrecht tram attack because of evidence including a letter found in the main suspect's getaway car.

"So far, a terrorist motive is seriously being taken into account. This is based on a letter found in the getaway car among other things and the nature of the facts," they said in a joint statement.

But it remained unclear whether Tanis, who has a history of run-ins with law enforcement, was acting on political beliefs or a personal vendetta. “Other motives are not being ruled out,” the statement said.

Under Dutch law Tanis must be brought before a judge by Thursday but does not yet have to be charged.

The three Dutch victims were identified as a 19-year-old woman and two men aged 28 and 49. Three others, ranging from 20 to 74 years old, were critically injured in the shooting.

Prosecutors said they had so far not been able to establish a connection between the victims and the suspected gunman.

“It’s very sad things like this happen in the world these days,” said Rene van Nieuwenhuizen, an accountant living in Utrecht, a picturesque city of 340,000. “I don’t think it will happen to me but it happens and so people get killed.” Mahmut Tanis, an uncle of Tanis who lives in the Netherlands, told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency that he doubted radical motives.

“Looking at my nephew’s condition, the possibility that what he did was a terror attack is low,” he said, adding that he had not seen him in years and that his actions could stem from “matters of the heart”.

Tanis had previously been arrested, prosecutors said, but have declined to provide details.

There was no immediate comment from Tanis or any lawyer representing him.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte convened crisis talks immediately after the incident, which came three days after a lone gunman killed 50 people in mass shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Utrecht went into lockdown in the aftermath of Monday’s shooting on a tram just after the morning rush hour.

London, Paris and several other European cities have suffered militant attacks over the past years which have killed hundreds of people and authorities are on high alert.

Flags flew at half mast on government buildings across the Netherlands on Tuesday in tribute to the victims.

-with inputs from AFP