Yesterday evening, an armed man took a hostage in the Apple Store at Leidseplein in Amsterdam.
The man demanded €200 million in crypto-currency. He held a 44-year old customer hostage and was armed with one short-fire weapon and a handgun.
The situation was eventually resolved when the culprit went outside for water — and got hit by a car.
Man enters Apple store and takes a hostage
At 5:30 PM yesterday, the man entered the Apple Store on Leidseplein and took a 44-year old British visitor hostage, reports the NOS. The gunman was dressed in camouflage clothing. Later, he was identified as a 27-year old Amsterdammer.
The police arrived on site ten minutes later. Immediately, the gunman opened fire at the officers and shot at least four times. It was unclear at the time whether the culprit was wearing a bomb vest.
In the following hours, Leidseplein and the surrounding area were completely cleared. The police, special forces, and ambulance turned up in large numbers. Anyone working in nearby stores was ordered to stay indoors.
Long hours of silence
Inside the store, customers and employees were ordered by the gunman to lock themselves inside an upstairs room of the building. The gunman, meanwhile, held the hostage locked under his elbow at all times.
At 8:30 PM, the police managed to free about 70 people from the Apple Store. An official tweet asked bystanders to hold back on publishing video material to not corrupt the operation.
Car takes him down
The gunman was asking for water at around 10:30 PM. The police gave in to the demand by delivering the water with the help of a robot.
When the gunman stepped outside, the hostage freed himself and started running off. As the culprit started the chase, a special-force car crashed into the perpetrator and knocked him unconscious.
Caution: This scene has been captured on video and might be disturbing to viewers.
The aftermath
Following the crash, pictures circulated of the gunman lying lifelessly on the ground. Police have confirmed that he is still alive and has been brought to a hospital.
In an official tweet, the Amsterdam Police Unit states: “We managed to stop the hostage-taker by hitting him as he ran out. Violent images of that collision can be seen. We now know that the suspect had no explosives on his body, and medical personnel are now taking care of him.”
At this moment, the police are still investigating the Apple store and Leidseplein. The exact identity of the culprit and his motives have also not yet been revealed.
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It’s too bad the car that hit the CRIMINAL didn’t do a better job running him over. Now the taxpayers will have to pay for his room and board and goodness knows what else.
He later died from his injuries…