Utrecht mass shooting commemoration cancelled

The public commemoration to mark the one year anniversary of a mass shooting on a tram in Utrecht on 18 March 2019 has been canceled. This is because of new measures taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus Covid-19, including the ban of events with more than 100 people. 

The city of Utrecht will still memorialize the victims of the attack on 24 Octoberplein. The Utrecht flags on the city hall, municipal offices, government buildings and district service center Vleuten de Meeren will fly at half-staff on Wednesday, March 18.

At exactly 10:43 a.m. the Dom tower will ring four times, once for each person killed, and then the city will honor a one minute moment of silence in memory of the victims, a city spokesperson told NL Times.

However the public memorial event will not be rescheduled for a later date, as the moment to observe and reflect on last year's events should be done on the date when the attack was carried out, the spokesperson said.

Four people were killed when a man opened fire on a tram on 24 Octoberplein on March 18 last year. Suspect Gokmen T. appeared in court last week. The Public Prosecution Service demanded life in prison against the man.