Utrecht police station evacuated amid reports of woman with explosives
A police station in the city center of Utrecht was evacuated on Friday due to a “suspicious situation,” the department said. The building was cleared when a woman walked in to the facility claiming to have explosives in her possession, anonymous sources told local reporters covering the incident.
The woman barricaded herself inside the Paardenveld police station, according to news website 112 Vandaag. The incident began just after 1:55 p.m., emergency services records show.
Police did not immediately provide confirmation regarding the claim, with the incident ongoing. “Specialists from the police and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal service are searching the building in connection with the suspicious situation,” police said just after 3:30 p.m. Nearby residences were not being evacuated at that time.
“We are not taking any risks, the entire building has been evacuated as a precaution,” said Wim Hoonhout, spokesperson for the Midden-Nederland police district, according to RTV Utrecht. Authorities cordoned off a large area around the station, including a portion of Kroonstraat, to keep the public out of the area, while making space for the explosives experts from the Dutch military, firefighters, and other first responders.
Some of the police workers based at the station were allowed to set up at the TivoliVredenburg concert venue just south from the scene. An initial staging area was also established near Sint-Jacobsstraat.
The situation was escalated to a Grip 1 regional emergency by 2:30 p.m. Under that protocol, more personnel are made available from various departments, with a single incident commander established to handle the response.
