UK Edition
A man used several knives to hold four cleaners hostage in a Dutch cafe on Saturday morning, sparking a dramatic hours-long standoff that involved scores of armed police and a remote-controlled robot.
The suspect, who police said was known to them, was detained after he eventually surrendered himself to authorities.
The situation began in the early hours on Saturday morning after reports emerged that several people were being held in Cafe Petticoat, a popular bar and nightclub in the centre of Ede.
Local media outlets reported that a “confused” man had burst into the cafe, which was open until 4am, and made threats, eventually holding four people hostage.
Images from Ede, a rural market town 53 miles south-east of Amsterdam, showed dozens of police and firefighters on the streets.
Officers evacuated 150 homes near the cafe, initially only saying that there was a person in the area “who could be a danger to themselves or others”.
They advised residents to “stay inside and don’t come and watch”. All travel to the area was shut down.
As negotiations continued, videos posted by residents watching from their balconies showed a police robot carrying a brown bag to the cafe, where it was collected by an unknown person.
The owner of a nearby cafe told reporters that his staff had been stopped and searched by police.
After several hours, three hostages were freed and met by specialist police units. Witnesses described the group as “looking distressed”.
That left one more person inside.
“Three hostages have just been released. The situation is not over yet,” the police said at the time.
Shortly before 12:30pm local time, two more people emerged from the café, according to Dutch media.
The first person, wearing an orange jacket, came out with his hands in the air and was taken away by the police.
Then a second person - believed to be the hostage taker – walked out of the cafe wearing a balaclava. He was ordered to take off his coat and kneel by police. He was then handcuffed.
A white man wearing a black T-shirt and blindfold was later pictured being put into a police van.
“The last hostage has just been released. One person has been arrested. We cannot share more information at this time,” said local police.
It was not immediately clear what the motive was for the hostage-taking.
Police said: “At the moment there is no indication of a terrorist motive.”
At a news conference later on Saturday, officials said the hostages were safe but “very emotional”.
Mark Rutte, the outgoing Prime Minister, said: “Great respect and appreciation for police, emergency services and special forces who brought the hostage situation... to a successful conclusion.”
“I wish everyone affected a great deal of strength to deal with these intense and dramatic events,” he added.
The Netherlands has experienced a series of terror attacks and plots but not on the scale of other European countries, such as France or Britain.