2nd Man Arrested in Tram Shooting

2 others were arrested and released; main suspect is still in custody
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 19, 2019 5:05 PM CDT
2nd Man Arrested in Tram Shooting
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte expresses his gratitude to Dutch police officers after laying flowers at a makeshift memorial for victims of a shooting incident in a tram in Utrecht, Netherlands, Tuesday, March 19, 2019.   (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch police say they have arrested another man on suspicion of involvement in the deadly tram shooting in Utrecht, the AP reports. Police said in a statement late Tuesday that the 40-year-old man was arrested in the afternoon by heavily armed officers in Utrecht. They say the man "is suspected of involvement in the shooting. His role is under further investigation." Police say that two other men arrested following Monday's shooting that left three people dead and three seriously wounded have been released and are no longer considered suspects. The main suspect, 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis, remains in custody.

Tanis was accused of rape in 2017 and was jailed in that case from August to September 2017 and then again from Jan. 4 this year because he refused to work with authorities investigating the case. He was released on March 1 after pledging to cooperate; his trial in that case is scheduled for July 15. He was also convicted in March of shoplifting and burglary in 2018. He was handed a prison sentence of four months for the burglary and a week for the shop theft, but has not served any time yet as the cases can still be appealed. In 2014, he was acquitted of manslaughter but convicted in the same case of illegal weapon possession and attempted theft. (Both personal and terrorism-related motives have been speculated upon in the wake of the tram shooting.)

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