Multiple people injured during Monday morning mass shooting in Holland

Shocking reports are emerging of a mass shooting in Holland as Dutch police confirm that several people have been shot in the city of Utrecht.

At least one person has died and a number of people injured in a shooting ‘with possible terrorist motive’ in the central Dutch city of Utrecht on Monday morning, local news reports.

One or several gunmen opened fire on a tram in the city centre at around 10.45 local time on Monday morning, before fleeing the scene, witnesses say. Police say one or multiple assailants are still at large, and have since instructed all schools, as well as mosques and transportation hubs, in the city to keep their doors closed.  

Shortly after 12.30 local time, the Dutch government raised the terrorism threat level to the highest possible in the province of Utrecht.

The Dutch anti-terror coordinator Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said in a statement that the ‘threat level has gone to 5, exclusively for the Utrecht province,’ referring to the highest level. ‘The culprit is still on the run. A terror motive cannot be excluded,’ he said in a Twitter message. He called on citizens to closely follow the indications of the local police.

Dutch military police have been ordered to be on ‘extra alert’ at Dutch airports and ‘vital buildings’ due to the ongoing police manhunt.