Netherlands hostages released from nightclub “extremely shocked,” Dutch police chief says

A tense hostage situation at a nightclub in the Ede, Netherlands, ended peacefully on Saturday after several hours with the arrest of a suspect. According to witnesses, a man wearing a balaclava mask could be seen exiting the building and surrendering to police.

At a press briefing following the release of the hostages, Ede's mayor René Verhulst said the man's motive was unknown and that he was being questioned by police. Verhulst said that there was no indication of a terrorist motive, while officials said that the suspect — who was previously known to police — had threatened the hostages with knives.

"We spoke briefly to the victims. They are extremely shocked", said Anne Jan Oosterheert, the head of operations for the local police. He added that investigations into explosives were ongoing.

Near the scene of the incident, local 21-year-old resident Jarno Van Barneveld described how he was “very lucky” that he wasn’t inside the nightclub at the time, while resident Johan Thien recalled how he could hear police screaming at the time.

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