Hostages Taken In Apple Store Are Freed As Gunman Demands Millions In Cryptocurrency

A man who took at least one person hostage in an Apple store in Amsterdam has been 'overpowered' with all hostages safely released, Dutch police have said.

The man, who was armed with two guns, was reportedly knocked down by a police car as he ran out of the store in Leidseplein in the central of the Dutch capital.

According to local reports, police were first called to reports of an armed robbery at around 5.40pm local time, however it quickly became apparent that the man had taken at least one person hostage inside the store.

Police at the scene of the hostage taking (Alamy)

The man seen in footage — taken by members of the public — with his arm around a hostage as he waved his gun, while other images purportedly from the scene show them sat inside the Apple store.

Amsterdam Police Chief Frank Pauw said that the man had fired at least four shots, though no one was believed to have been injured in the incident.

Police quickly asked bystanders to stop sharing footage on social media, citing the need to protect the wellbeing of any hostages inside, per the BBC. It was confirmed that 'several people' managed to leave the store during the operation, with the final hostage ultimately freed unharmed.

The hostage-taker has been identified as a 27-year-old man from Amsterdam, with police telling reporters at a press conference following the incident that he had demanded a large amount of money in cryptocurrency.

According to Reuters, the man, who has a previous criminal record, contacted police himself while inside the Apple store to demand a ransom of €200 million in cryptocurrency, as well as safe passage out of the building.

The situation came to sudden and unexpected end when the final hostage — a 44-year-old British man — engineered his own escape when a robot dog came to the front door of the store to deliver water at the request of the hostage-taker.

Leidseplein square (Alamy)

The hostage fled through the door, leading the hostage-taker to chase after him, at which point he was run down by police.

In a tweet, Amsterdam police confirmed, 'We managed to stop the hostage-taker by hitting him as he ran out...We now know that the suspect had no explosives on his body and medical personnel are now taking care of him.'

Police Chief Pauw praised the final hostage's actions, saying, 'The hostage played a heroic role by forcing a breakthrough. Otherwise, this could have been a long night.'

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