One person was killed and several more people were injured in a shooting that broke out in the Dutch city of Utrecht. Terrorism is being investigated as a potential motive, police said.
The Dutch counter-terrorism unit has surrounded a building where the gunman may be located, local media has reported. The perpetrator manged to escape the scene of the crime earlier, despite police cordoning off the area and adjacent streets.
A square around a tram station outside downtown Utrecht is also on lockdown.
#Utrecht Trumanlaan pic.twitter.com/sWyHY6SAmc— Arjan van Midden (@ArjanvanMidden) March 18, 2019
The shooting has left one person dead, police confirmed. Ambulances and emergency services are also present although the number of injured is yet to be clarified.
Police said it's looking at all plausible motives for the shooting, including terrorism.
The police is investigating the shooting at the #24oktoberplein in Utrecht this morning. An possible terrorist motif is part of the investigation.— Politie Utrecht (@PolitieUtrecht) March 18, 2019
Medevac helicopters have been send in to airlift the wounded, Utrecht police said. They also urged drivers to make way for medical vehicles.
BREEK - Volgens getuigen heeft een man in een tram op weg naar Utrecht CS een wapen getrokken en meerdere personen neergeschoten. Hulpdiensten massaal aanwezig en bezig met eerste hulp in de tram. pic.twitter.com/eQOWF2e5Ze— Yelle Tieleman (@YelleTieleman) 18 марта 2019 г.
U-OV, a local transport company, said tram services were suspended all around the city. As the situation developed, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte canceled the weekly coalition meeting and will consult with a crisis response team.
Slachtoffer wordt terwijl medewerkers hem/haar in ambulance leggen nog steeds gereanimeerd. pic.twitter.com/73aOZx2Qrz— Yelle Tieleman (@YelleTieleman) 18 марта 2019 г.
A shooting occurred on the #24oktoberplein in #Utrecht. The incident has been reported at 10.45 hour. Multiple people have been injured. The surrounding area has been cordoned off and we are investigating the matter.— Politie Utrecht (@PolitieUtrecht) March 18, 2019
It is still unclear if the shooter acted alone or had accomplices. “A man started shooting wildly," an eyewitness told Dutch news outlet NU.nl. But the AD.nl website cited a witness who said there were four gunmen who opened fire at a woman near the tram station.
24 Oktoberplein street, where the shooting took place, is an important traffic junction in Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands raised the terror threat in Utrecht province to highest following a tram shooting, which could have killed one and injured several others. The Dutch counter-terror agency said it appears to be a terror attack.
The National Anti-Terrorism Coordinator (NATC) said it raised the terrorism threat level to 5 in all of Utrecht area, the highest for the emergencies of this kind. The alert will be in place until at least 18:00 local time.
The government authority said the decision was made after the shooting on a tram in Utrecht, where rescue efforts and a manhunt for possible perpetrators are still underway. The incident “currently has all the characteristics of a terrorist attack,”NATC said.
Earlier in March, the agency warned that terrorism threat remains high all across the country. “Over the past year the threat situation in the Netherlands has been unsettled,” it warned, saying, “the chance of an attack in the Netherlands is still real.”
#Utrecht Trumanlaan pic.twitter.com/sWyHY6SAmc— Arjan van Midden (@ArjanvanMidden) March 18, 2019
— Arjan van Midden (@ArjanvanMidden) March 18, 2019
Utrecht police said on Monday that they were considering the possibility of a “terrorist motive.” Heavily armed officers rushed to the area shortly after the shooting was reported on a tram at a busy traffic junction.
The police is investigating the shooting at the #24oktoberplein in Utrecht this morning. An possible terrorist motif is part of the investigation.
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