Staff were evacuated from the studios while armed police searched the buildings |
A man
wielding a fake gun has been arrested in a studio of Dutch news broadcaster
NOS, causing the main evening bulletins to be cancelled. Staff
were evacuated from the building in the Media Park in the city of Hilversum. Continue..
The
man, smartly dressed and carrying what appeared to be a long pistol, paced
around a studio, reportedly demanding airtime.
Armed
police then stormed into the studio and overpowered him.
Prosecutors
later said that the man, aged 19 and from the town of Pijnacker near The Hague,
was in police custody.
He is
being held on suspicion of making a threat, weapons possession and taking a
hostage, officials added.
Police
combed the building, declaring it safe shortly after 22:00 (21:00 GMT).
Justice
and Safety Minister Ivo Opstelten said it appeared that the man had been acting
on his own.
During
the disruption to the NOS news programme, the channel broadcast a message
reading: "In connection with circumstances, no broadcast is available at
this time."
The man's motive was
unclear. Dutch media reported that he was believed to be a student at a
technical university and had recently lost his parents.
The NOS footage shows
him saying: "The things that are going to be said [pause] - those are very
large world affairs. We were hired by the security service."
A threatening letter
the man allegedly gave to staff, warning of bomb and cyber attacks if he was
prevented from going on air, has been published on the
NOS website (in Dutch).
A reporter who spoke
to him said he had claimed to be from a "hackers' collective", AP
news agency says.
Studio
arrest
When the channel came
back on the air, it broadcast video of the man wandering about a studio.
According to NOS
director Jan de Jong, he had wanted to go to the main evening news studio but
instead a guard took him to a studio where daytime bulletins are broadcast.
Dressed in a black
suit, white shirt and black tie, and carrying what appeared to be a long black
pistol, he can be seen on the video walking around in the studio, which appears
to be empty.
Armed police then
storm in, shouting: "Drop it! Drop it! Get on your knees!"
He drops the gun,
saying: "I dropped it. It's dropped."
Police then put
handcuffs on him and take him away.
According to Mr de
Jong, the man had a list of demands and wanted 10 minutes' airtime.
Controversial
politician Pim Fortuyn was shot dead in the Media Park in 2002 after giving a
radio interview.
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