Ede hostage-taker also threatened police; Attorneys: He could not get psychological help
The man suspected of holding four people hostage for hours in a bar in Ede on Saturday was previously sentenced to prison for threatening two police officers with a firearm, De Gelderlander reports. Though little has been said officially about his motives, his attorneys believe he may have become desperate to receive better psychiatric care, and the hostage-taking was because "a hopeless situation arose," according to RTL Nieuws.
The 28-year-old man was arraigned on Tuesday for keeping the young staff at Café Petticoat against their will. The examining magistrate remanded him into pre-trial custody for 14 days.
In December 2023, a court convicted and sentenced the man to 120 days in prison, 103 days of which were conditionally suspended, for threatening two cops with a firearm. The conditions imposed on the man included that he commit no other criminal offenses in the next three years, stay in contact with the probation service, and undergo psychiatric treatment, the newspaper wrote based on data from the Gelderland court.
Sources told De Gelderlander that the suspect has psychological problems and was receiving treatment at a specialist mental health clinic.
The 28-year-old man from Ede held four people hostage for hours at Café Petticoat in the city center on Saturday morning. He allegedly threatened them with knives and claimed he was armed with explosives, though the police did not find any explosives on him after his arrest.
Sources told the newspaper that the man entered the bar shortly after closing time at 4 a.m. He was acting strangely and then took four employees of the pub hostage under threat of violence, the sources said. Hours later, the police managed to convince him to let the young employees go and arrested the man. There were no physical injuries.
Motives may be linked to fruitless search for mental care
Shortly after ending the hostage situation, the police confirmed that the suspect had a criminal record. A police spokesperson said that the man’s motives were part of the investigation.
His attorneys told RTL Nieuws that they also do not know what his motives were. They said he had spent an extended period of time trying to find "appropriate assistance," and that he had grown desperate. They suggested he may have manufactured the scenario as a means to get mental healthcare.
"It seems likely that there is a connection with the client's very long search for appropriate assistance," said his attorneys, Petra Breukink and Willemijn Oosterbaan-van Veen. His despair may have turned to a last desperate attempt, the attorneys suggested.
"This appears to have led to the terrible event that we regret for all involved."
No known connection with Petticoat
The owner of the Petticoat previously said that he noticed the man hanging around a short time before the hostage situation, while his employees were clearing up after closing. “He was standing a meter away from me. It was like a doll. He looked very lifeless and empty,” the owner told the Telegraaf. “I saw no danger in the man. Otherwise, I would have sent him away.”
He left his employees, all 19 and 20 years old, to close up shop and went home. When he checked the security cameras at around 5:00 a.m., he saw his employees kneeling on the ground. “I thought that was so strange. I called them and saw their phones ringing. But they didn’t pick up,” he said. He called the emergency services.
Café Petticoat previously released a statement saying that the employees did not know the man. It appears that the location of the hostage-taking and the victims were chosen at random.
