Utrecht Shooting: Gunman Kills 3 People On Dutch Tram In Possible Terrorist Attack

Dutch police are searching for the man who opened fire inside a tram in the city of Utrecht, killing three people and wounding five others late Monday morning. Police say they're investigating a "possible terrorist motive" for the attack.

Updated at 11:30 a.m. ET

Utrecht Mayor Jan van Zanen confirmed the three deaths in a video update around 3 p.m. local time, saying that three of the wounded are facing serious injuries.

Within hours of the attack, police released the name and image of a man they want to find in connection with the shooting: Gökmen Tanis, 37, who was born in Turkey. Police warned anyone who sees Tanis not to approach him but instead to contact police.

Details are still emerging about the incident, which took place around 10:45 a.m. local time (5:45 a.m. ET).

Just before the attack, police say, a car was stolen from a location a few blocks south of the intersection where the shooting took place. That car, a red Renault Clio, was later recovered several miles northeast from where it was taken.

The Netherlands has been shaken by the violence, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a televised news conference.

"An act of terror is an attack on our open and tolerant society," Rutte said, according to NPO Radio. "If it is an act of terror, there is only one answer: our rule of law and democracy is stronger than violence."

Police say they believe one person carried out the shooting. With that person still on the loose, city officials are warning Utrecht residents to stay away from the area and asking them to be vigilant, stating, "New incidents are not excluded."

The attack left the tram stopped along a curve between two main roads. Witness Daan Molenaar told Dutch broadcaster NOS that he had just boarded one of the tram's cars when the shooting started — and that he was lucky to avoid the one where the shooting started.

Molenaar says he wasn't sure what was happening, until he saw a woman lying on the ground near the train — and when a group of people tried to help her, Molenaar says, a man holding a gun walked toward them.

Passengers in his car soon tried to get away — and they jumped out when the doors opened. Molenaar says he heard more shooting, then, and saw people ducking behind cars — "just like an American western."

At a briefing about the investigation, police spokesman Bernhard Jens said "one explanation is that the person fled by car," according to the Associated Press, which adds that Jens "did not rule out the possibility that more than one person was involved" in the attack.

When the shooting occurred, the tram was near the 24 Oktoberplein transit station — which takes its name from the founding date of the United Nations in 1945.

"Authorities say three trauma helicopters have been dispatched along with emergency vehicles to the scene," Teri Schultz reports for NPR's Newscast unit.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima issued their condolences for victims of the attack, saying they are "deeply saddened" by the three deaths and reports of people who were seriously injured. They also said such violent acts are "totally unacceptable."

Shortly after the incident, Utrecht's mayor issued a statement expressing sympathy for those who were wounded. He also confirmed that police are still looking for the person who is responsible. And he reiterated the police's statement, saying investigators have not ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack.

The violence prompted the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security — the Dutch agency also known as the NCTV — to raise the threat level to 5 in Utrecht's province until at least 6 p.m. local time.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory last September to warn of a possible terrorist attack in the Netherlands, urging people who visit the country to "exercise increased caution."

"Terrorists continue plotting possible attacks in the Netherlands," the U.S. agency said in September. "Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs" and other public spaces. [Copyright 2019 NPR]