Utrecht Police Consider Terrorist Motive in Shooting

(Bloomberg) -- Utrecht police said it’s considering a potential terrorist motive in a shooting incident in a tram at the Dutch city’s 24 Oktoberplein square on Monday, according to a Twitter post.

Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg is in close contact with local authorities, he says in a Twitter post. The shooter is still on the run, NOS reported.

According to Dutch news agency ANP the incident leaves at least one person dead. In an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS, Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the incident “seriously troubling news.” Police said multiple people have been injured. The terror threat level is raised to 5, the highest level, for the Utrecht province, until 6 p.m. local time today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Katharina Rosskopf in Frankfurt at krosskopf@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Katerina Petroff at kpetroff@bloomberg.net, Fred Pals, Wout Vergauwen

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