3 dead, 5 injured in possible terror shooting attack on Dutch tram

The attack shocked the Netherlands on Monday. "A shooting occurred on the #24oktoberplein in #Utrecht. The incident has been reported at 10:45 hour. Multiple people have been injured. The surrounding area has been cordoned off and we are investigating the matter," the police of Utrecht said shortly before noon on Twitter, adding that "a possible terrorist motive is part of the investigation."

The mayor of Utrecht, the capital and largest city of the Utrecht province, said in a statement on the municipality government's website that "Shortly before noon a shooting took place on a tram in Utrecht around 24 Octobersquare. A horrible and radical incident in which victims have fallen."

"With my chief of police and public prosecutor I can confirm that the police and the public prosecutor are currently looking for the person or persons responsible for this incident," van Zanen added in the statement, "We do not exclude anything, not even a terrorist attack."

The Dutch National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) increased the threat level in the province of Utrecht from 4 to 5, the highest level, until at least 6 p.m. local time. The rest of the Netherlands remains on the current threat level 4.