AMSTERDAM: Dutch police ended a hostage-taking in an Apple flagship store in Amsterdam after a man armed with two guns held at least one person hostage for hours, police said on Wednesday.
Police arrested the suspected hostage-taker, a 27-year old man from Amsterdam, after he ran out of the building at the central Leidseplein square, shortly after 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) on Tuesday.
“We managed to end the situation by hitting the hostage-taker with a car when he ran outside,” police said on Twitter, adding that the man was being treated for serious injuries.
The man had carried a pistol and an automatic rifle, with which he fired at least four shots when police arrived at the square around 6 p.m., Amsterdam police chief Frank Pauw told a news conference early on Wednesday.
The man, who had a criminal record, had contacted the police himself during the hostage-taking, demanding a ransom of 200 million euros ($226 million) in cryptocurrencies and a safe passage out of the building, Pauw said.
“He threatened a hostage with a gun and threatened to blow himself up, so we took it very seriously”, Amsterdam newspaper Parool quoted the police chief as saying.
The situation ended when the hostage, reportedly a 44-year old British man, fled from the building when a police robot delivered water at the door of the store at the request of the hostage-taker.
The hostage-taker ran after the man and was quickly hit by the car.
“The hostage played a heroic role by forcing a breakthrough,” Pauw said. “Otherwise, this could have been a long night.”
During the evening, about 70 people were able to leave the store while the hostage-taking was going on. There were no reports of any other injuries.
The hostage-taker was seriously injured, but able to speak when he was arrested, police said.
