POLICE in the Dutch city of Utrecht have named the suspect in a shooting attack that left three dead and "multiple" people injured.

Officers identified Turkish-born Gokman Tanis, 37, in connection with the incident. The public have been urged not to approach him.

The Mayor of Utrecht, Jan van Zanen, confirmed that three people had died in the shooting.

Authorities immediately raised the terror alert for the area to the maximum level and said they are considering the possibility of a "terrorist motive" in the attack.

Dutch military police went on extra alert at Dutch airports and at key buildings in the country as the Utrecht manhunt took place.

Police, including heavily-armed officers, flooded the area after the shooting on Monday morning on a tram at a busy traffic intersection in a residential area.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the situation "very worrying" and the country's counter-terror co-ordinator said in a tweet that a crisis team was meeting to discuss the situation.

The National:

The country's anti-terror coordinator raised the threat alert to its highest level around the central Dutch town following the shooting incident.

Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said in a statement that the "threat level has gone to five, exclusively for the Utrecht province," referring to the highest level.

Anti-terror officers gathered in front of a block of flats close to the scene.

Utrecht police said trauma helicopters were sent to the scene and appealed to the public to stay away.

He did not rule out the possibility that more than one person was involved in the attack.