Three people were killed and nine others were injured in a shooting on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht, the mayor said on Monday, adding that authorities were working on the basis of it being a terror attack.
"At this stage, we can confirm three deaths and nine wounded, three of them seriously," Utrecht Mayor Jan van Zanen said in a video statement on Twitter.
"We are working on the principle that it was a terrorist attack," he added.
Armed counter-terrorism police launched a huge manhunt for the attacker, urging local residents in one of the Netherlands' biggest cities to stay indoors in case of further incidents.
Police released a picture of the Turkish-born suspect, naming him as 37-year-old Gokman Tanis, and warning people not to approach him.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the incident, just days ahead of local elections, was "deeply disturbing" and police stepped up security at mosques and airports.
He said people may have died in a shooting in the city of Utrecht being treated as a possible terror attack, adding that the Netherlands would "never give way to intolerance".
Rutte told a brief press conference in The Hague with the country's justice minister that there were "several wounded and possible deaths" in the incident.
A body covered in a sheet could be seen on the tracks in Utrecht as armed police and emergency services swarmed around the scene, while helicopters hovered overhead.
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