"Suspicious situation" sends decked-out police to Veenendaal shopping center
Police officers decked out in bulletproof vests responded to the Corridor shopping center in Veenendaal due to a "suspicious situation" on Wednesday morning. At least one person was arrested.
A spokesperson for the police would not tell the Gelderlander who was arrested, but did say that the person was "firearm dangerous". According to the newspaper, the arrest was made at the request of the National Office of the Public Prosecutor. The police's Special Intervention Team responded.
The shopping center was closed to the public during the arrest - no one was allowed in or out and there were police cars and officers at all entrances. A police helicopter was also at the site.
Around noon the police announced that the threat has passed, according to RTV Utrecht. The shopping center is open to the public again.
The police did not share what was going on with the retailers in the shopping center, several told the Utrecht broadcaster. Hairdressers Alive decided to lock their doors to be safe. "It was quite a thrill", one stylist said, adding that there wasn't a panic. An employee at Bart Smit only realized anything was going on after a colleague in Ede called him. "He saw on Facebook that something was happening. We saw officers walking, but they were suddenly gone."
