The suspect in the hostage-taking at a AppleStore from amsterdam who kept the city on edge on Tuesday is a 27-year-old man who demanded 200 million euros in cryptocurrencies.
After holding a hostage at gunpoint for several hours on Tuesday night and threatening to blow himself up, the suspect was controlled and taken to hospital with “serious injuries” where he remains under surveillance, police said in a statement on Wednesday. .
“All options are being considered” as to the motive for taking the hostages, said police, who also found that the man was carrying explosives, which did not go off.
Investigators currently have no reason to believe there is more than one suspect, police said.
His address was searched as well as a house he regularly visited.
The hostage-taking kept residents around the Leidseplein square, a busy place in the center of Amsterdam where there are numerous bars and cafes, on edge for almost five hours.
“Just when the city was about to reopen and resume normal life, violence erupts again in the heart… of Amsterdam,” said the deputy mayor. Rutger Groot Wassink at a news conference on Tuesday.
The amsterdam police received the tip from an armed man around 5:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. GMT) on Tuesday.
The first officers sent to the scene were shot with an automatic weapon, the police chief said.
It soon became clear that the suspect, a man from Amsterdam, also had a gun and images suggested he may have been wearing an explosive vest.
The 27-year-old man demanded 200 million euros ($225 million) in cryptocurrencies and a safe-conduct, according to law enforcement.
The square surrounding the store was quickly cordoned off, while cafes and theaters were closed.
“Hero”
“The controlled and decisive action of the police deserves only praise,” Justice and Security Minister said on Twitter, Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius“He avoided the worst,” he added.
Heel veel sterkte voor iedereen die gisteren bij de gijzeling in Amsterdam aanwezig was.
Het beheerste en doortastende optreden van de politie verdient niets dan complimenten.
Daardoor is erger voorkomen.
— Dilan Yesilgöz – Zegerius (@DilanYesilgoz)
February 23, 2022
“I think the hostage played a kind of hero role,” said the Amsterdam police chief, Frank Pauw. “In fractions of a second” he put an end to the situation, when his flight brought out the attacker and he could be stopped.
After arresting the suspect, the police used a robot to examine him and explained that they had not initially found any explosives.
The Amsterdam Apple Store will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday, and the other two Apple Stores in the Netherlands, in Haarlem and The Hague, will remain closed on Wednesday, their websites said.