Bomb prank at Amsterdam central station causes unrest

An as yet unidentified man caused a commotion at Amsterdam Central Station on Wednesday afternoon with what the police are calling a "sick joke". He threw a bag into a book store and shouted that it contained a bomb, eyewitnesses told the Telegraaf. A book shop employee thought fast, grabbed the bag and checked the content. The bag only contained a black mask and an empty bottle. But as this was not immediately clear to everyone, it took some time for calm to restore. "An older couple was really frightened", one eyewitness said to the newspaper. Everyone eventually calmed down and the bag was taken to the lost and found, where the police picked it up for investigation. The police confirmed to the newspaper that someone threw the bag into the book shop and caused a panic. They are confident that the perpetrator will be caught, because he is clearly visible on surveillance camera footage. Whether the man will be prosecuted for a criminal offense is unclear.