Utrecht attack suspect to face terror charge

Gokmen T. will have to answer to charges of multiple murders with terrorist intent in a gun attack on a packed Utrecht tram, Dutch prosecutors said on Thursday.

The 37-year-old was also to be charged with attempted murder or manslaughter and making threats with terrorist intent, they said in a statement.

While police had arrested a second suspect in the case, investigations into the shooting last week that left three dead and three seriously injured have led prosecutors to believe the attacker acted alone.

The statement said they were still looking into whether T. "acted out of a single terrorist motive or from personal problems combined with a radicalized ideology."

Investigators had also previously said they had found a letter along with other evidence that pointed toward a terrorist motive.

The suspect was arrested after an eight-hour manhunt that virtually shut down the Netherlands' fourth-largest city and saw security stepped up at airports and key sites across the country.

T. is due to face a judge on Friday behind closed doors before his next hearing in two weeks.

ta/sms (AP, AFP, dpa)

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