Hostage Situation In Dutch Town Ends, One Detained (Update)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

EDE, NETHERLANDS (Worthy News) – An hours-long hostage situation in the Dutch eastern town of Ede ended without bloodshed on Saturday after an attacker was detained and taken into police custody, officials said.

Four people were held hostage in a café, but eventually, one masked man came out after a roughly seven-hour standoff, police confirmed. The suspect was on his knees, surrounded by police, Worthy News learned.

Dutch prosecutors said he had several knives and showed them to the victims. The suspect, who wasn’t identified, was also carrying a backpack that may have contained explosives, according to investigators.

“We will conduct an extensive investigation in the coming period, including into his mental state,” said Marthyne Kunst, the chief officer of the Public Prosecution Office East Netherlands). “He was known in Justice circles as he was last year detained for making threats,” Kunst explained at a news conference.

During the negotiations, three hostages were initially released from the party Café Petticoat at Ede’s Nieuwe Stationsstraat (New Stationstreet), but concerns remained about others still inside the building.

The three released people, all in their 20s and dressed in the cafe’s uniform, appeared visibly moved by the crisis, which came after a giant “16+ party”.

Special forces surrounded the building, and people, including journalists, were moved away by police wearing flak jackets, Worthy News monitored.

HOSTAGES SAFE

As reporters were pushed back, the hostage crisis ended with all four hostages safe and nobody injured, authorities said.

The crisis began at 5:15 am local time, and 150 homes were evacuated in Ede, a town of some 120,000 people. Those being evacuated were provided aid at the municipality building.

Many shops were closed in the center of this crucial town in the province of Gelderland when residents were preparing for the Easter Holiday.

It brought back memories of a hostage situation in an Apple Store in Amsterdam in February 2022, the base for a film to be released by the Netflix video streaming service next year.

However, “We do not have any indication that the motive was terrorism,” Ede police later said.

Yet “The emotions are huge,” confirmed Ede Mayor René Verhulst. “I will soon go to the former hostages and the others who are being taken care of. Everyone is very shocked.”

Unlike in many other countries, hostage situations are relatively rare in the Netherlands, where gun ownership is limited, though concerns have risen about mounting crime and recent tensions with pro-Palestine protesters targeting the Jewish community.

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