NETHERLANDS: Dutch police detained a person Saturday after he left a nightclub the place 4 individuals had been held hostage for hours, bringing a peaceable finish to a tense standoff. “We’re exceptionally blissful that it ended this fashion. That the victims got here out safely and that we had been capable of arrest this suspect with out utilizing violence,” mentioned Marthyne Kunst, head of the regional public prosecutor’s workplace.
There was no fast phrase on a motive, however police and prosecutors mentioned they didn’t consider it was a terrorist incident. Police mentioned the hostage-taker was armed with knives, and a backpack he carried was being examined to determine if it contained explosives.
The hostage-taking within the central Dutch market city of Ede, 85 kilometers (53 miles) southeast of Amsterdam, ended round noon when a person walked out of the Cafe Petticoat membership and was ordered by armed police to kneel together with his fingers on his head. He was then handcuffed earlier than being led right into a ready police automobile.
Kunst advised reporters that the person was identified to regulation enforcement authorities and had beforehand been convicted of threatening habits. She gave no additional particulars, citing privateness and the continuing investigation.
The suspect’s identification was not launched. Ede Mayor René Verhulst mentioned he was a Dutch citizen.
Authorities additionally launched no particulars concerning the 4 hostages.
Verhulst mentioned that after an emotionally charged morning, “every thing is ok. The hostage-taker is arrested by the police and they’re now talking to him. And the hostages are free, they’re very emotional.”
Earlier, three younger hostages walked out of the membership with their fingers above their heads. A fourth individual was launched shortly earlier than the suspect was arrested. The hostages had been all staff on the membership.
Closely armed police and particular arrest groups, some sporting masks, had gathered exterior the favored membership. Some 150 close by properties had been evacuated and trains didn’t cease on the city’s station.
