Dutch police special forces have been deployed outside an Apple store in central Amsterdam, where a gunman has been holding hostages since early afternoon, according to Dutch media reports.
Video broadcast by the AT5 television network shows a man being held hostage by a gunman.
Several people managed to escape from an Apple store.
In a post on Twitter, the Dutch police state that they do not want to go into details about the development of the operation.
Early in the afternoon, police evacuated the square in the southern part of Amsterdam’s shopping center and asked locals to stay indoors and not go out trying to see exactly what was going on.
A video posted on social media shows a man in camouflage pants and a black hood threatening a store employee with a gun.
“There is an armed man inside the store; the police are with a lot of units and special forces at the scene and are making efforts to control the situation,” Dutch police said in a Twitter post. “We are limiting the information on the situation in the Apple Store… in order not to cause problems in the research and the efforts made there”, he adds. The number of people being held hostage remains unclear.
The police evacuated the square on the south side of Amsterdam’s shopping center and asked locals to stay home and not go out trying to see what exactly was going on.
Regarding the safety of the people involved in the hostage situation at the Apple Store at Leidseplein, we would like to ask all public to stay away from the site so the police can focus on dealing with the situation.
– Politie Eenheid Amsterdam (@POL_Amsterdam) February 22, 2022
In Amsterdam, the largest city in the Netherlands, four armed robberies were recorded in mobile phone shops in 2021, forcing companies to reduce the number of devices they keep in their shops to reduce losses in similar attacks. However, none of the previous 4 robberies took place in a central part of the city.
It is worth noting that hostages are extremely rare in the Netherlands. In 2015, a gunman broke into a television studio, trying to make his demands known live. No one was injured and the perpetrator was arrested and taken to prison.
In 2002, a gunman held hostages in offices he mistakenly thought belonged to Philips Electronics. He ended his life and did not harm a hostage.
Overval op de Apple store amsterdam incl gijzeling #rtlnieuws #overval #apple #BREAKING #gijzeling pic.twitter.com/BLPAAbDtvL
– Riccardo (@Riccardo_ViH) February 22, 2022
Vermoedelijke gijzeling Apple Store Leidseplein #overval #leidseplein pic.twitter.com/mMmgnRFNQG
– Thom (@vdhthom) February 22, 2022
Holy fuck gewapende overval at the Apple store. Politie with shotgun pistol. pic.twitter.com/3HGPYgio3Y
– Tim Wagemakers (@TimSW) February 22, 2022
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