Amsterdam Apple Store Hostage Situation Has Ended – CNET

Police in Amsterdam responded Tuesday to a hostage situation at a flagship Apple store in Leidseplein, a popular shopping and entertainment area in the city. The hostage was freed Tuesday night, police tweeted at 1:44 p.m. PT, and the hostage taker was examined for explosives by a robot in the street.

“The hostage is safe,” police said. “We have now been able to bring even more people who were in the building to safety.”

The investigation into the hostage taker is ongoing, with police “not yet able to provide any information about his condition” as of 1:58 p.m. PT.

Earlier Tuesday evening local time, police had said on an official Twitter account that there was “an ongoing hostage situation at the Apple Store at Leidseplein.” Police said that a person with a firearm was in the store and that specialist units were at the scene to get the “situation under control.” They cleared the square where the store is located and asked people in Leidseplein to stay inside.

Amsterdam police provided updates throughout the situation via Twitter, tweeting at 11:53 a.m. PT that “several people” were able to get out of the building. At 1:15 p.m. PT, they said “dozens of people” had left the Apple Store and were being taken to a police location to provide witness statements and be given victim support services.

A robbery was first reported at around 5:40 p.m. local time (8:40 a.m. PT), according to local broadcaster AT5. One man was involved in the situation, Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool reported. The man exited the Apple Store before seeing police, taking a hostage and reentering the store, the newspaper said, citing eyewitnesses.

AT5 also reported that witnesses had heard gunshots. One Het Parool reporter at the scene tweeted about a police officer mentioning a possible explosion hazard. The Netherlands Special Interventions Service is also responding to the scene.

Multiple posts on social media showed footage of the incident, despite people being cautioned by police not to share information.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.