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AMSTERDAM (AP) — An hours-long hostage standoff at the Apple Store in Amsterdam ended late Tuesday with police in a car driving into the hostage-taker as he ran from the store. His hostage was safe, police said.
“We can confirm that the hostage-taker is out of the Apple Store. He is lying on the street and a robot is checking him for explosives. Armed police officers have him under control from a distance. The hostage is safe.”
The motive for the incident was not immediately clear. Local broadcaster AT5 suggested the standoff was the result of an attempted armed robbery. AT5 said witnesses reported hearing shots fired.
Dozens of police, including heavily armed specialist arrest teams, massed around the store, cleared and sealed off the nearby Leidseplein square and urged people living there or in shops or cafes nearby to remain indoors. The square ringed by bars and restaurants is close to one of the Dutch capital’s main shopping streets.