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Emergency services including armed police, anti-terror units and paramedic teams raced to the scene and parts of the city were on lockdown with schools told to keep their doors locked until further notice. Hours after the shooting, the gunman's motive remained unclear. A prosecutor said it could be for "family reasons" and Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency, quoting relatives of the gunman, said he had fired at a relative on the tram and had then shot at others who tried to help her. Utrecht police announced the suspect, 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis, had been taken into custody.

Police have named 37-year-old Turkish born Gökman Tanis as their chief suspect in the shooting and urged members of the public to contact them with information on his whereabouts. They have warned people not to approach him. The gunman opened fire at around 10.45am local time. A woman who was sitting in a tram told local broadcaster NRC a man got put of his seat and started shooting at other passengers.

Utrecht tram attack: A man has shot people on board

She said: “I was in the back of the tram. He shot around, but seemed to be aiming at people sitting on the benches - everyone ducked. “The conductor did not open the doors immediately. "Two boys next to me kicked in a window, so I fled outside. Several people did the same." An arrest has now been made, although more details have not been released.

Dutch police have named Gokman Tanis as a suspect in the Utrecht shooting

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said all efforts were focused on catching the "suspect or suspects”. Mr Rutte did not repeat earlier comments by counter-terrorism authorities who suggested the shooting may have a terrorist motive. He said: ”Our country today has been jolted by an attack in Utrecht. “Police and prosecutors are looking into what exactly happened. “What's known now is that there was shooting at people sitting in a tram in Utrecht, that there were wounded, and possibly deaths."

Police in Utrecht after shooting on tram

Dutch capital Amsterdam has also been placed on red alert after the attack in Utrecht 30 miles away. An Amsterdam police spokesman said: "We are in contact with our colleagues in Utrecht.” Extra security patrols are taking place at the the city’s Schipol international airport. Mosques across the Netherlands have been told the close for the day as precaution.

Pictures from the scene of the Utrecht shooting

Counter-terrorism teams and Dutch national security co-ordinators have launched investigations into the shooting National co-ordinator for counter-terrorism and security Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said the shooting "appears to be a terrorist attack". He said: "In Utrecht there was a shooting at several locations. "A lot is still unclear at this point and local authorities are working hard to establish all the facts. “What we already know is that a culprit is at large. He declined to comment on the number of injured or what condition the victims were in.

Utrecht shooting: Area flooded with officers and emergency services

Dutch paramilitary police have stepped up security at airports and other vital public infrastructure. The threat level for the province of Utrecht has been raised to to five - its highest level. Local authorities said air ambulances had been dispatched to support the emergency trauma teams but casualty numbers have yet to be confirmed. Eyewitnesses reported at least seven people had been injured in the shooting but their conditions are not yet known. University Medical Centre Utrecht said it had created space as an emergency hospital for the victims of the shooting.

Several people have been injured in a shooting on a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht

RTV Utrecht reported police were looking for a red car in connection with the attack. Police spokesman Joost Lanshage said: "Several shots were fired in a tram and several people were injured. “Helicopters are at the scene and no arrests have been made.”

Several people have been injured in a shooting in Utrecht

RTV Utrecht quoted an eyewitness as saying he had seen a woman lying on the ground. Several men ran away from the scene. The Utrecht police said The October 21st square, a tram station stop outside the city centre, had been cordoned off as emergency services were at the scene. Sources report to RTV Utrecht that the police are looking for a red car and that several people were seriously injured.

Police at the scene