A lone gunman wearing a bulletproof vest has killed three people in Rotterdam.

He fatally shot a 39-year-old woman in an apartment near where he lived – and seriously injured her 14-year-old daughter, who later died.

The attacker then went to the nearby Erasmus Medical Centre, where he shot and killed a 43-year-old teacher.

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Police officers secured the area after the arrest

A suspect was arrested under the university hospital’s helipad.

Police say he was a 32-year-old student at the medical centre who had previously been convicted of animal abuse.

At a news conference, detectives revealed that a fire had broken out at the locations of both shootings.

The attack caused scenes of panic at the hospital – with patients wheeled out of the building in beds.

Some barricaded themselves inside and stuck handwritten signs on windows to show their location.

A police officer from the special intervention service walks outside the Erasmus MC Rotterdam hospital on Rochussenstraat, which has been cordoned off after two shooting incidents in Rotterdam

No motive has been announced, but officers believe the suspect was acting in a “targeted manner”.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima said: “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victims of the violence this afternoon in Rotterdam.

“We also think of everybody who lived in fear during these terrible actions.”