A hostage taking was underway Tuesday evening in Amsterdam in an Apple Store: an armed man had entered the store, before being subdued several hours later by the police.
“We managed to arrest the hostage taker by hitting him with a vehicle when he ran out” of the shop, police said on Twitter, citing “violent images” of the scene circulating on social media . After examining the man lying in the street with a robot, “we now know that the suspect had no explosives on his body and the medical personnel are now dealing with him”, said she added.
The hostage-taking lasted several hours, keeping residents around Leidseplein, a place in downtown Amsterdam popular with Amsterdammers and tourists, especially for its many bars and cafes, in suspense.
Several people were released from the Apple Store during the evening, police said, without specifying the total number of individuals taken hostage. The local media speak of several dozen people. Police said they are unable to provide information on the condition and identity of the hostage taker at this time.
Images filmed by Internet users circulated on social networks, showing in particular an armed man holding another unarmed man and according to the media AT5, several witnesses heard gunshots in the shop earlier in the evening.
No injuries
The police, who were on site throughout the evening with numerous specialized units, did not report any injuries. But according to Dutch public television NOS, the hostage taker was injured during his arrest and was taken care of in an ambulance.
Freelance journalist Tim Wagemakers, who was in another building overlooking the square, said on Twitter that he saw police officers with guns drawn. “The square has been emptied, people are locked in bars, doors are closed” and people must “get away from windows”, he said earlier in the evening.