3 dead in 'potential terror attack' in Utrecht, Dutch

Police in Utrecht said they were reducing the number of injuries to five people. Before this, the police said that nine people were injured due to the bullet. The figure of death of three in the shooting has not changed.
The Dutch police announced the updated number of the injured in a tweet, but did not immediately tell the reason for changing the number.

The armed anti-terrorism police launched a huge campaign for the attacker, in which one of the largest cities in the Netherlands urged the local residents to stay inside the house in case of further incidents.

The police released a photo of a suspected Turkish-born suspect, named him as 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis and warned people not to contact him.

"At this stage, we can confirm three deaths and nine wounded, three of which are severely injured," Utrecht Mayor Jan van Zain said in a video statement on Twitter first.

"We are working on the principle that it was a terrorist attack," he said.

Later, the Mayor withdrew the advice issued earlier by the municipality to stay indoors for residents of the city after fatal shooting on the tram.

In a video tweeted by Utrecht municipality, the mayor said that the first advice to stay indoors was based on fears that shots were mounted in more than one place in the city.

He now said that "this is not the case, as far as we know".
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Route said that the incident was "deep disturbance" just days before the local elections, and the police increased security at mosques and airports.

He said that people could die during treatment in the Utrecht city as a possible terrorist attack, saying that the Netherlands would never "give way to intolerance".

Route said in a brief press conference in The Hague with the Minister of Justice of the country that there were "many injuries and possible deaths" in the incident.

A body covered in a sheet could be seen on the tracks in Utrecht, because armed police and emergency services were tilted around the spot, while the helicopters were hovering overhead.

Rescuers set up a screen where the dead body was covered with a white blanket after shooting in Utrecht, Netherlands on Monday. - A.P.
Peter-Zap Albersburg, head of the Dutch National Counter-Terrorism Service, said, "We can not leave a terrorist motive, a brief news conference before leaving for a crisis meeting told in the conference.

Albersburg said that "many places" were shot but did not give further details.

They said, "A major police operation is going on for arresting the gunman."

He said that the level of terror alert in Utrecht had increased to a maximum of five levels.

Later the police surrounded a building a few hundred meters away, an AFP reporter said at the scene, but it was unclear that gunmen were inside.

'New Incidents Not Included'
Police in Utrecht said that the shooting took place on the tram in the 24 Oktobilin area of ​​the city and that "a possible terrorist is part of the purpose investigation".

"Many people have been injured, the surrounding area has been closed and we are investigating this matter ... several trauma helicopters have been deployed to help."