Standoff at Dutch nightclub ends with hostages freed, suspect in custody - Al Jazeera English

Police said ‘no indication of terrorist motive’ but did not say how many people were held.

An hours-long standoff at a nightclub in the central Netherlands has ended with the release of all the hostages and a suspect in custody, Dutch police said.

“The last hostage has just been released. One person was arrested, we cannot give more information at the moment,” police said on X on Saturday.

The man walked out of the club in the town of Ede, before being ordered by armed police to kneel with his hands on his head. He was then handcuffed and led into a waiting police car.

Police had said earlier that several people were taken hostage in the building in the centre of Ede, located 85km (53 miles) southeast of Amsterdam.

There was “no indication of a terrorist motive”, police said.

Three hostages were subsequently released but police said at the time that “the situation is not over yet”.

It was not immediately known how many people were held captive.

Police stand near the Cafe Petticoat nightclub, where several people were taken hostage in Ede, the Netherlands, on March 30, 2024 [Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters]

The hostages were held at the Cafe Petticoat nightclub by a man with weapons and explosives, national newspaper De Telegraaf reported, citing several anonymous sources.

Officers evacuated 150 homes near a central square, saying there was a person in the area “who could be a danger to themself or others”.

A reporter for broadcaster NOS said a remote-controlled robot was at the scene as well as anti-explosives units and police in protective gear. Images from the scene in Ede showed police and firefighters on the streets in a cordoned-off area.

Authorities called on residents to avoid the town centre. Trains to and from Ede were cancelled, railway operator NS said on its website.

The municipality said all shops in the centre of Ede would remain closed.

The Netherlands has seen a series of attacks but not on the scale of other European countries, such as France or the United Kingdom.

In 2019, the country was stunned by a shooting spree on a tram in the city of Utrecht that killed four people.

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2024-03-30 13:18:45Z
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