Dutch prosecutors said Monday that they have a "strong indication" that a man accused of fatally shooting four passengers on a tram in the central city of Utrecht in March had a "terrorist motive".
According to prosecutors, the 37-year-old Turkish-born suspect Gokmen Tanis, left a handwritten letter in his car, saying: "I'm doing this for my religion, you kill Muslims and you want to take our religion away from us, but you won't succeed. Allah is great".
The prosecutors further said that their suspicions arise from two statements made by the suspect before he refused to answer any more questions. The officials, however, didn't provide any information on the statements.
The shooting took place on 18 March in a tram in central Utrecht. Initially, Turkish media outlet Anadolu reported that the suspect had had a dispute with a family member. However, the following day, Dutch authorities said that they were seriously considering terrorist motivations behind the incident. Tanis, who was arrested hours after the incident, has claimed responsibility for the incident and said he acted alone.