Dutch police arrest suspect in 'random' Rotterdam shootings

The Hague: Dutch police on Friday said they had arrested a man suspected of shooting dead three people in the port city of Rotterdam in an apparently...

The Hague: Dutch police on Friday said they had arrested a man suspected of shooting dead three people in the port city of Rotterdam in an apparently random spree over two weeks.

The series of killings has struck fear into local residents and been headline news in the Netherlands, where armed violence is usually linked to organised crime groups.

Officers arrested a 24-year-old man of no fixed abode and a weapon was found at the scene. There is no indication yet of a motive, chief prosecutor Hugo Hillenaar told reporters.

"It has been a nightmare for everyone living in Rotterdam but also for me personally and for all the professionals involved as someone was freely wandering around shooting random victims," said Hillenaar.

Hillenaar said the suspect was born on the Caribbean island of Curacao but grew up in the Netherlands. He was known to police for petty crimes as a juvenile, such as shoplifting.