Ede hostage situation ends: One arrest, four freed, no injuries

The hostage-taking in Ede has ended, police confirmed. Around 12.30 p.m., a person wearing a balaclava left the Petticoat café in Ede with his hands above his head. The person, probably the hostage-taker, was handcuffed by the police outside the cafe. The alleged hostage-taker was blindfolded by police and placed in a car from the Special Interventions Service (DSI). Shortly before, a fourth hostage was released, according to reporters at the scene.

The person suspected of taking four people hostage in a café in Ede had several knives with him. The suspect also showed these weapons to the hostages. The suspect was also known to the judiciary and has already been convicted of threatening, Marthyne Kunst, chief prosecutor at the East Netherlands Public Prosecution Service, said at a press conference on the hostage-taking in Ede.

Earlier today, individuals kept a group of people hostage at a cafe in the center of Ede and released three people just before 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, police confirmed. However, the police said there is no indication of a terrorist motive.

The three young hostages, two women and one man, walked out of the bar with their hands above their heads. They walked away from the area unassisted while wearing black hoodies with the Petticoat logo on the back.The hostages left the café with their hands on their heads and looked visibly emotional.

They were visibly shaken by the time they reached a staging area; the man and one woman were in tears. It was not immediately clear if they were physically injured, but witnesses said they looked to be unharmed. Police officers would not confirm the total number of people who were held against their will during the ordeal, the possibility anyone was wounded, and the number of hostage-takers, though they responded under the assumption that there was only one offender.

Some of those near the bar on Nieuwe Stationsstraat said that a masked man took the bar’s staff hostage, and that he claimed to be carrying a bag full of explosives, reported Omroep Gelderland. The police called in the specialist DSI tactical response team, and the EOD, a unit specialized in handling explosives.

The first report of a possible hostage-taking was received by the police at 5.15 a.m. According to the police, there were reports of possible explosives. The hostage-taker was carrying a backpack, which is currently being examined.

Ede Mayor René Verhulst called it a “terrible situation for all these people. My concern and thoughts go out to them and their loved ones.” He asked that people be respectful of them and their privacy.

Verhulst also said that he saw many videos about the situation online. "I urge you to be very cautious about this and not to share. The hostages who are now free have the right to peace and privacy. The police also want to be able to do their work properly."

On Saturday morning, the police called the public to avoid the city center of Ede because of an incident. "Stay inside and don't come to watch," the police wrote on X. As a precautionary measure, the police evacuated around 150 homes near the location of the hostage-taking. The evacuated residents were accommodated in the town hall on Bergstraat, a municipal spokesperson said.