HORROR

Netherlands Tram Shooting: Manhunt After Gunman Opens Fire on Transit Car

Dutch officials raise terror threat level to “maximum.”

Dutch anti-terrorist units are searching door-to-door and across the city of Utrecht for a red Renault Clio car after a gunman reportedly opened fire on a busy tram car Monday morning. First responders were called to the scene at 24 Oktoberplein in the western district of the Netherlands city at 10:45 a.m local time, and there are reports of several injuries. Local and national media are reporting several bodies under white sheets at the site of the tram attack, and the city’s mosques have reportedly been evacuated. The AP reports the Netherlands’ top anti-terror coordinator has raised the terror threat level to “maximum” around the city. No one has been apprehended. On Twitter, Dutch police are advising people to evacuate the area and the city’s tram system has been shut down while authorities search for the shooter. Dutch TV station NOS quoted police officials that said the perpetrator has escaped and a manhunt is underway. The Netherlands’ anti-terrorism unit deals with extremism and radicalization, according to Dutch press reports.

-with reporting from Nadette De Visser