Vught prison hostage suspect identified as same man who held Ede café staff in 2024
The man arrested Friday for taking three staff members hostage at the Penitentiair Psychiatrisch Centrum (PPC) in Vught has been identified as Corné H., his lawyer confirmed Saturday. H. previously held four café employees in Ede hostage for several hours last year, authorities said.
The Vught incident occurred late Friday afternoon. One of the three prison staff was able to reach safety during the standoff, while the other two were released later, the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) reported. “Under the circumstances, they are doing well,” the agency added. The prison plans to file a police report against the detainee.
H.’s lawyer confirmed he was awaiting court-ordered psychiatric treatment, known as tbs in the Netherlands. In December 2024, he was sentenced to nine months in prison and tbs following the Ede café hostage incident, where he was declared partially mentally unaccountable.
On March 30, 2024, H. held four employees at Café Petticoat in Ede at knifepoint for several hours and threatened to blow up the street in the city center. The standoff began shortly after the café closed.
The court later sentenced him to prison and mandatory psychiatric treatment, citing his autism spectrum disorder, PTSD, and borderline traits, as well as a risk of recidivism. Psychological assessments at the time concluded his actions in Ede were “a cry for help,” and no tbs clinic placement was available.
According to AD, the number of individuals in tbs who must remain in regular prisons because there is no space in psychiatric clinics has climbed from 49 in 2020 to 124 in 2023, reaching 250 in 2025.
