Apple Issues Statement Following Resolved Hostage Situation At Amsterdam Store

Apple has praised Dutch police as well as customers and staff at an Amsterdam store where a hostage situation yesterday came to a close with no injuries to the public and the suspect detained in custody.

apple amsterdam
In a statement obtained by TechCrunch, Apple said that all employees and customers are safe after the "terrifying experience" at Apple Amsterdam in Leidseplein on Tuesday.

"We want to thank local law enforcement for their exceptional work and ongoing investigation," said the statement, provided by an Apple spokesperson. "Our teams and customers took swift action and showed incredible strength and resolve today, and we are so thankful for the support and care they've shown each other under such challenging circumstances."

The statement came hours after local police resolved the hostage situation at the flagship store, which saw a man in camouflage gear and a balaclava fire a gun at least four times and then hold at least one person hostage for several hours before being apprehended.

A photo shared by local newspaper Het Parool showed the hostage taker sitting opposite the hostage, who appeared handcuffed with his hands behind his back. Several other people were also reported to have been inside when the incident began, but managed to escape unharmed.

The attack, which lasted from around 5:30 p.m. local time until 10:45 p.m., saw the store cordoned off and people in surrounding buildings ordered to stay indoors. According to police, the hostage-taker contacted authorities during the incident and demanded 200 million euros ($227 million) in cryptocurrency and a safe exit from the Apple store.


AT5 Echt Amsterdams Nieuws reported that the standoff came to an end when the hostage-taker requested water which was taken into the store by a robot, at which point the hostage attempted to run to safety. As the suspect chased after the hostage, police on the scene hit the running suspect with an armored BMW X5 and then checked him for explosives using a robot, which confirmed none were present.

According to the police, the suspect is a 27-year-old Amsterdam resident who sent selfies to the local press during the incident that appeared to show him wearing a bomb vest. The suspect was in possession of both an automatic weapon and a handgun. It's still unknown what prompted the incident, but he is believed to have acted alone.

Top Rated Comments

kyjaotkb Avatar
23 months ago
Macrumors, the article leaves us wanting. It was a BMW X5, which is a crucial piece of info, but what model was it, exactly? What trim does the Dutch police go for and does it have CarPlay?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TMRJIJ Avatar
23 months ago
Glad to know that everyone is safe :)
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdelaune Avatar
23 months ago
Why does it look like the hostage taker has given the hostage their automatic weapon in that photo…
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
medazinol Avatar
23 months ago
If he'd tried this in a Microsoft store they would have said "look, we'll pay anything, just stay in the store!!"
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gasu E. Avatar
23 months ago

Would be great if MR would stop overusing the term "flagship". Note that's singular? You could call the very first Apple store that opened their flagship store....you also do the same when talking about their devices. Pick one. The term is singular.
Yes and no. Technically, there's one flagship per group. But that depends on how you define which group you are talking about. You could have the Netherlands flagship, or the Amsterdam flagship.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zoboomafoo Avatar
23 months ago

After browsing the “Deep Web” one time a few years ago, I am no longer surprised by the resources people have access to.
It’s the dark web. Time for you to watch some letterkenny. Pitter patter!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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