THE HAGUE, Feb 23, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - A man with a firearm who held several
people hostage in an Apple store in central Amsterdam late Tuesday was
overpowered after a siege lasting several hours, police said, adding that the
last of the hostages had been freed.

   Police had deployed several special units to "get the situation under
control" after being alerted of an armed robbery at 5:40 pm (1640 GMT) which
had rapidly transformed into a hostage situation.

   Police said the gunman was "lying on the street and a robot was examining
him for explosives" in front of the store in Leidseplein in the heart of the
Dutch city.

   The last hostage held in the store was safe, they added.

   "Since the start of the hostage taking ... several people have managed to
leave the store," they said earlier.

   They were monitoring images circulating on social media which would
eventually be used in an investigation, they added.

   Tim Wagemakers, an independent journalist who was in a nearby building,
tweeted that there were heavily armed police at the site, adding that locals
had been asked to remain inside and stay away from their windows.

   The building he was in was evacuated during the hostage-taking.

   Images on social media showed an assailant holding a man at gunpoint,
local media reported. Several witnesses heard gunshots inside the Apple
Store, according to the AT5 outlet.