The Utrecht “gunman” has been arrested after “shooting a relative on a tram for family reasons and opening fire at anyone who tried to stop him”.

Cops have detained suspect Turkish born Gökmen Tanis, 37, hours after a shooter opened fire on passengers in a stationary tram this morning, leaving three dead and five injured.

Police earlier released CCTV images of Tanis in a tram apparently taken just four minutes before the shooting broke out at the 24 October Square station at 10.45am, The Sunreported.

Armed terror units were seen surrounding a building where the gunman was believed to be holed up as the shooting initially sparked a lockdown across the city.

Reports from Anadolu news agency claimed that the gunman fired at his relative over “family reasons” and later shot at others trying to help.

A police spokesman, Bernhard Jens, said earlier the attack “could be a domestic dispute”.

In a conference this evening the state prosecutor confirmed that the shooter had previous run-ins with law enforcement.

He added that police have now conducted raids in several places in their search for the shooter.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte earlier said “a terror motive is not excluded” as the official terror threat level - the highest Utrecht has ever seen - was extended until 10pm (local time).

CHAOS
Witness Jimmy de Koster told RTV he was at traffic lights near the square when he saw a person lying on the ground shouting: “I have done nothing”.

“I saw a woman lying down, I think she is between 20 and 35 years old,” he said.

“At that time I heard pang pang pang three times. Four men walked very fast towards her and they tried to drag her away and then I heard pang pang pang again and those guys let go of that woman again. Very chaos there.”

During the suspected attack one woman was seen being “hit in the chest by one of more bullets”, while three others were said to have been resuscitated on the tram and in the street, ad.nlreported.

Another witness, Niels, told the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper he believed the gunman had a specific target.

“I had the impression he was firing at one person in particular, because I saw a women crawl out,” he said.

“Other people tried to help her, and when they did that he went round behind her and began firing at them.”

Warnings for schools, mosques and indoor public spaces to remain closed were lifted shortly after 4pm local time.

Mayor Jan van Zanen said that earlier advice to remain indoors was based on fears that shots had been fired at more than one location in the city.

SUSPECT REVEALED
Dutch police on Monday arrested the suspect in a shooting on a tram in the city of Utrecht in which three people were killed and five injured, a police chief said.

“We have just been informed that the suspect has been arrested,” Utrecht police chief Rob van Bree told a news conference.

Police had earlier said they were searching for Turkish-born suspect Gökman Tanis, 37, and issued a picture of him.

Police showed the picture of a bearded man sitting on public transport and dressed in a dark blue top with a hood tucked in his neck. Police identified him as Gökman Tanis.

It was the first image distributed of someone linked to the shooting.

Police had asked citizens to call authorities with any information and to report any suspicious situation via toll free and emergency numbers.

Earlier, police surrounded a building where the suspected gunman “with a possible terror motive” was said to be holed up.

The gunman, who may not have been acting alone, opened fire on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht, killing at least three people and injuring five others.

Police raised the terror alert in Utrecht to its maximum level and put local schools into lockdown as gunshots were reported in several areas of the university town, the country’s fourth largest, which is located about 45 minutes’ drive south of the capital Amsterdam.

There was carnage on a morning tram when the gunman opened fire at 10.45am local time (8.45pm Monday night AEDST).

Police said “multiple people’’ were injured when the gunman apparently fired indiscriminately into the commuters.

“Investigation into shooting incident #24oktoberplein #Utrecht is underway,’’ Utrecht police tweeted.

“We also take into account a possible terrorist motive.’’

The incident happened at the 24 October Square tram stop.

The police issued social media appeals asking people to clear the area to allow emergency services vehicles to access the scene.

“The surrounding area has been cordoned off and we are investigating the matter.’’

Three trauma helicopters at the scene, as is a police anti-terrorism unit.

The square where the shooting occurred is named for the United Nations, which was signed into existence on October 24, 1945.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called a crisis meeting, and security was boosted across the Netherlands including in Amsterdam and The Hague, and as far afield as the German border.

Prime Minister Rutte said the incident, just days ahead of local elections, was “deeply disturbing” and police stepped up security at mosques and airports.

Mosques in the city were asked to shut their doors, and public transport was shut down.

The Utrecht attack came three days after 50 people were killed when immigrant-hating white nationalist Brenton Tarrant opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand during Friday prayers.

There was no immediate indication of any link between the two events.

Police, including heavily armed officers, flooded the area in Utrecht after the shooting at a busy traffic intersection in a residential neighbourhood.

They later erected a white tent over an area where a body appeared to be lying next to the tram.

Heavily armed anti-terror officers gathered in front of an apartment building close to the scene. A sniffer dog wearing a tactical vest with a camera mounted on it was also seen outside the building.

“We cannot exclude, even stronger, we assume a terror motive. Likely there is one attacker, but there could be more,” Mr Jan van Zanen, Utrecht mayor, said.

“Our nation was hit by an attack in Utrecht,” Prime Minister Rutte said. “A terror motive is not excluded.” Mr Rutte said that, throughout the country, “there is a mix of disbelief and disgust.”

“If it is a terror attack then we have only one answer: our nation, democracy must be stronger that fanaticism and violence,” he added.

Police spokesman Bernhard Jens said one possibility “is that the person fled by car.”

He did not rule out the possibility that more than one shooter was involved.

Dutch political parties halted campaigning ahead of provincial elections scheduled for Wednesday that will also determine the makeup of the Dutch parliament’s upper house.

The father of the suspect says his son should be punished if he’s to blame.

Mehmet Tanis, the father of Gökman Tanis, and who lives in Turkey’s central Kayseri province, told the private Demiroren news agency that he hadn’t spoken to his son in 11 years.

He says “if he did it, he should pay the penalty.”

Separately, Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency said the suspect’s relatives believe he shot at someone close to the family due to “family issues.”

Prime Minister Rutte said that some of those wounded in the attack are “still in critical condition.”

“Three people are dead, three people are fighting for their lives,” he said. “The world shares our grief.”

Dutch justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus, speaking at the same press conference, said the attacker in the deadly tram shooting “was known” to authorities and said the suspect had a criminal record.