Monday, March 18, 2019

37-Year-Old Turkish Suspect Arrested In Dutch Terror Shooting



37-Year-Old Turkish Suspect Arrested In Dutch Terror Shooting


Update 7: Utrecht police have arrested the 37-year-old Turkish suspect in a deadly Monday tram shooting which has left three dead and three injured. 
The man was found during a raid in The Old Town area. 
Following the arrest, the terror threat level was dropped to four, from a maximum of five. 
Update 6: The number of injured is now five, down from an initial report of nine. 

Update 5: Authorities believe that a red Renault Clio stolen shortly before the shooting may have been used as an escape vehicle, according to AD.nl. Police have raided an apartment nearby where the vehicle was found.
A local interviewed reports that "several police actions are currently going on throughout Utrecht," and that "arrests are being made." 
Update 4: Local media reports that an eyewitness named Niels says suspect Gökmen Tanis was targeting a specific woman, and then began shooting people attempting to help her. 
Via AD.nl (translated): 

"It happened in the tram behind me. Suddenly there was commotion. The tram stopped in a bend so I could clearly see what was happening in the tram set behind me. The door of the tram was forced and windows were smashed. There was confusion in our tram set, but it remained fairly calm."
"At that moment there was certainly already a shot in the tram behind me. 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."

Update 2: The Utrecht shooting - in which three people are now dead and nine injured according to the Mayor, appears to have been revenge for last week's New Zealand mosque attacks, as a Twitter account believed to belong to suspect Gökman Tanis recently posted a photograph of the rifle used by NZ gunman Brenton Tarrant. 
The shooting is now being treated as a terrorist attack, per Mayor Jan van Zanen. Residents are advised to stay indoors and not to go t the nearby Channel Island. 

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