LATE yesterday a guy armed with a firearm entered an Apple shop in central Amsterdam and took one or more people hostage, police said, adding that they had surrounded the location.
“There is an ongoing hostage situation at the Apple Store at Leidseplein at the moment,” the city police force said on Twitter.
“To ensure the safety of all people involved we are not able to share information about the situation and/or actions taken by the police.
“We would like to ask all public to stay away from the site so the police can focus on dealing with the situation,” they said.
Several special units were deployed to “get the situation under control,” according to police, who said they were alertedof an armed robbery at 5:40 p.m. (1640 GMT) that quickly turned into a hostage situation.
They stated however that they were watching photographs circulating on social media that will be utilized in their investigation.
An independent journalist in a neighbouring building, Tim Wagemakers, reported that heavily armed police were present. Adding that that building has subsequently been evacuated.
Local media said that images on social media showed a gunman holding an unarmed man at gunpoint.
While according to the AT5 outlet, several witnesses heard gunfire inside the Apple Store.
