EDE, Netherlands — Dutch police said three people who were being held hostage in a nightclub in the central town of Ede have been released, but they add that the “situation is not over.”
Gelderland Police announced the hostage release in a message on X, formerly Twitter. They gave no further details about whether more hostages remained in the club.
Earlier, the Associated Press (AP) reported that heavily armed police cordoned off part of a Dutch town on Saturday, saying that multiple people were being held hostage in a building there.
Police spokesman Simen Klok told AP people were being held hostage in the town of Ede but he declined to give more details of the incident or say how many people were involved.
Police said in a message on X that “at the moment there is no indication of a terrorist motive.”
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Police gather in Eden, Netherlands, on Saturday, March 30, 2024. Heavily armed police have cordoned off part of a Dutch town and say that multiple people are being held hostage in a building there. It is unclear how many people are being held. Police said in a message on X, formerly Twitter, that “at the moment there is no indication of a terrorist motive.” (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)
The hostages were being held in Cafe Petticoat, a popular bar and nightclub in Ede, according to an AP videographer at the scene.
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Also earlier, officers evacuated 150 homes near a central square, saying that there was a person in the area “who could be a danger to themself or others.”
Images from the scene in Ede, a rural market town 85 kilometers (53 miles) southeast of Amsterdam, showed police and firefighters on the streets in a cordoned-off area.
The municipality said that all shops in the center of Ede would remain closed.