Hostage is seen handcuffed in Amsterdam Apple store where his captor demanded €200million ransom... before hero captive fled and allowed police to RUN OVER the crook
This is the moment a hostage was handcuffed in an Apple store in Amsterdam before managing to escape... and leading his captor outside where police ran him over.
Pictures from last night's dramatic incident show the hostage cuffed with his hands behind his back sat opposite a gunman, thought to be a 27-year-old Dutch man, pointing a firearm in his direction. An earlier clip showed the captive in a headlock with a gun pointed at his head inside the shop. The hostage-taker could be seen waving around the weapon as he gestured towards customers sat in a restaurant across the street.
Dutch media had earlier today reported the hostage was British but police later confirmed he was a 44-year-old man from Bulgaria.
The hostage managed to escape the ordeal by fleeing the gunman who then chased him down the street before being hit by a police car in Leidseplein - a square in the centre of the Dutch capital.
The incident, which started around 5:40pm, lasted nearly five hours and involved dozens of hostages. 'Dozens' of hostages left the building by 9:15pm and officers declared the incident over around 10pm.
Amsterdam police said: '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.'
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A hostage was seen handcuffed in an Apple store in Amsterdam where his captor demanded a ransom of €200million before the hero captive fled and allowed police to run over the crook on Tuesday evening
The hostage-taker lies next to a police robot on the street shortly after the end of the incident in the Apple Store. Police said the suspect had no explosives on his body
Footage earlier showed a man in a headlock with what appears to be a gun pointed at his head at the shop in Leidseplein - a square in the centre of the Dutch capital
The hostage-taker was seen putting his arm around his captive as the pair looked at Apple products together in the Amsterdam storeAnother video also captured approximately a dozen armed police officers taking cover and surrounding the store in the city.
The force added: 'They are going to a police station for a witness statement and of course for aftercare such as victim support.'
Police initially said: 'Due to a report at a shop on Leidseplein, police are now deployed there. More information will follow via this Twitter channel.'
In an update at around 5.55pm, it added: 'There is someone with a firearm in/near the shop in question, the police are on site with many (specialist) units to get the situation under control.' A further statement said they were reluctant to provide information 'so as not to disrupt our investigation and efforts there'.
The force said at 7pm that a 'hostage situation' is ongoing, before confirming around an hour later that 'several people have been able to leave'.
One witness claimed they had to 'run for their life' after hearing gunshots.
They told Dutch broadcaster AT5: 'I was standing on the zebra crossing opposite the apple store. An employee walked out in panic with a walkie-talkie, yelling.
Armed officers are seen standing by a police vehicle near Leidseplein during the hostage situation. Members of the public were advised to stay away from the site
Security forces take measures around the store after armed robbers reportedly entered the store in the centre of Amsterdam
'At that moment the penny hadn't dropped yet and I was about to cross the zebra crossing opposite the entrance to the Apple store.
'And that's when I heard gunshots inside.'
Members of the public had been advised to stay away from the site so police could 'focus on dealing with the situation'.
Dutch journalist Wouter Laumans earlier tweeted: 'The Apple store Leidseplein hostage situation is still ongoing.
'Police officer on the ribbon talks about "possible explosion hazard".'
A window cracked by a bullet at the Apple Store in Leidseplein in Amsterdam following a hostage situation on Tuesday evening
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