ISTANBUL, March 19, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Turkish intelligence services are
investigating the gun attack in the Netherlands to determine whether it was a
terror attack or a possible family dispute, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said Monday.
Dutch police arrested a Turkish-born suspect over the attack on a tram in
the city of Utrecht that left three people dead and five wounded earlier in
the day.
Dutch authorities said they were investigating a likely terrorist motive
but “cannot exclude” other motives, including a family dispute.
“Our intelligence services are investigating all of this, our intelligence
chief told me that he was going to gather all details and would come back to
me,” Erdogan told Turkish TV channel Ulke TV.
“Some say that it is a family dispute, others say it is a terrorist act,”
he said.
According to Turkish media, the main suspect Gokmen Tanis was born in
Yozgat, central Turkey. Turkish state news agency Anadolu, citing “relatives”
of the alleged assailant, said it may have been a possible “family dispute”.
The father of the suspect, Mehmet Tanis, said his son should be punished if
found responsible, a Turkish news agency reported.
He said he had lost contact with his son having returned to his homeland in
2008 after divorcing his wife, DHA agency reported. She remained in the
Netherlands.