Hostage taker in Amsterdam Apple store had explosives, police report

Amsterdam police said on Wednesday that man who was arrested in the city after holding a person hostage at gunpoint for several hours in an Apple flagship store on Tuesday night had explosives on his body. The day-long standoff ended late Tuesday after Amsterdam police knocked down the heavily armed man with a speeding car on the central Leidseplein square in front of the store after he ran out of the building shortly after 10:30 p.m., to chase his hostage who had managed to escape. The hostage taker sustained serious injuries, but survived.
Apple Amsterdam
Toby Sterling for Reuters:

The suspected hostage taker, a 27-year-old man from Amsterdam, 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. (1700 GMT), Amsterdam police chief Frank Pauw told a news conference early on Wednesday.
The man, who had a criminal record, had contacted the police during the hostage-taking episode to demand a ransom of 200 million euros ($226 million) in crypto currencies and 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 hostage, described by police as a Bulgarian man, fled from the building when a police robot delivered water to the door of the store, at the request of the hostage taker. The hostage taker then chased after the man and was hit by the car. “The hostage played a heroic role by forcing a breakthrough,” Pauw said. “Otherwise, this could have been a long night.”

Audio NSFW (depending on where you work):

Andere camera hoek: pic.twitter.com/ma5CoJhayS
— noem me geen puber (@NPuber) February 22, 2022

MacDailyNews Take: Apple said in a statement, “We are so incredibly grateful and relieved that our employees and customers in Amsterdam are safe after this terrifying experience. Apple thanked Dutch police for “exceptional work.”
Apple’s retail store website says that the Amsterdam store is open today.
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