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 in local residents and has 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.

The spree started on December 21, when a 63-year-old man was shot in the head and later died of his injuries. Nearly exactly a week later, a 58-year-old man was shot in similar circumstances in the same neighbourhood.

Rotterdam police chief Fred Westerbeke said his team quickly established a link between the two killings but were unable to prevent a third — an 81-year-old man was shot on Thursday.

Officers had actually questioned the suspect in a shop on Thursday evening, but could not match him to the grainy CCTV image circulating at the time, said Westerbeke.

Police took a photo of the suspect and his identity details and this allowed them to arrest him just before midnight on Thursday, added the police chief. Authorities have not found any link between the three victims so “we are assuming they were chosen at random”, he added.

Rotterdam mayor Carola Schouten said there was “great relief” in the city when police arrested the suspect.

“This has put an end to a terrifying situation. I sincerely hope, and I also assume, that we can support each other in this sorrow,” she said. “Take good care of each other. “