Utrecht tram shooting: Teenager and football coach among victims after three killed and five injured in Netherlands

Arrested: police released this photo of Gokmen Tanis on a tram during the manhunt. He was “known to authorities”
PA

A football coach and a teenage snack bar worker were today named in reports as victims of the Utrecht tram shootings.

Three people were killed and five wounded when a gunman opened fire yesterday afternoon before fleeing and finally being captured after a city-wide manhunt.

The attacker, identified as Turkish-born Gokmen Tanis, 37, was arrested along with two others, believed to be his brother and another man.

Authorities said they could not rule out a terrorist motive but were also looking at whether it was over a relationship with a woman.

Police forces and emergency services stand at the 24 Oktoberplein in Utrecht
AFP/Getty Images

Tanis’s father, Mehmet Tanis, told Turkish news agency Anadolu that his son fired at a relative because of “family reasons”. He then shot others who tried to help the victim, he claimed.

Dutch media said Tanis had been charged several times in recent years with offences ranging from attempted manslaughter to petty crime in and around Utrecht.

Two weeks ago he was in court on charges of raping a woman in 2017, according to reports.

He was described by a former girlfriend as a “crazy drug user... not a terrorist but a psychopath.” There were reports that Tanis may once have fought in Chechnya.

The Netherlands: Utrecht Tram Shooting - In pictures

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Justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus said the attacker “was known” to authorities and had a criminal record, but would not elaborate.

Tanis was arrested yesterday during a raid on a building a few miles from the 24 Oktoberplein tram stop, where the shootings took place. During the hunt, police released a photo of a bearded Tanis on a tram in a blue hooded top.

Dutch authorities reduced the threat level in the city back to four out of five following Tanis’s arrest. Police spokesman Bernhard Jens said they were “not 100 per cent sure” of the motive.

“It could still be a domestic dispute,” he said. “We will wait for the investigation before we say more.”

Among those killed was married father-of-three Rinke Terpstra, a youth coach at the Utrecht football club Desto. In a statement the club said it was stunned by his death.

It said: “With great dismay and astonishment, we received the terrible news that our trainer of the teams JO19-1 and MO11-2 died in yesterday’s shooting incident in Utrecht.

“Our compassion goes first and foremost to his wife and children. He has been involved with Desto for a long time, where he himself played football, tennis and also trained both his sons and daughter with passion.”

Roos Verschuur, 19, was also identified in reports as having been killed.

A colleague told newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. “It can be clear that the death of our employee hit us extremely hard. She was only 19. There are no words for this. We can’t comprehend this."

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