The Hague, Netherlands:

A person with a firearm who held a number of individuals hostage in an Apple retailer in central Amsterdam late Tuesday was overpowered after a siege lasting a number of hours, police mentioned, including that the final of the hostages had been freed.

Police had deployed a number of particular items to “get the situation under control” after being alerted of an armed theft at 5:40 pm (1640 GMT) which had quickly remodeled right into a hostage state of affairs.

Police mentioned the gunman was “lying on the street and a robot was examining him for explosives” in entrance of the shop in Leidseplein within the coronary heart of the Dutch metropolis.

The final hostage held within the retailer was secure, they added.

“Since the start of the hostage taking … several people have managed to leave the store,” they mentioned earlier.

They had been monitoring pictures circulating on social media which might finally be utilized in an investigation, they added.

Tim Wagemakers, an impartial journalist who was in a close-by constructing, tweeted that there have been closely armed police on the web site, including that locals had been requested to stay inside and keep away from their home windows.

The constructing he was in was  evacuated throughout the hostage-taking.

Images on social media confirmed an assailant holding a person at gunpoint, native media reported. Several witnesses heard gunshots contained in the Apple Store, based on the AT5 outlet.

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