The Dutch national broadcaster was forced off air tonight when a gunman stormed into the studios and demanded time in front of the cameras.
There were incredible scenes on Dutch television as footage of the the suspect’s arrest was broadcast, showing him dropping his weapon as soon as armed officers ordered him to.
According to a reporter from the broadcaster who spoke to the man, he claimed to be a member of a hacker’s collective working for Dutch intelligence, the Associated Press reported.
NOS was off-air for around an hour. When it came back, it showed recorded footage of the man, wearing a black suit, white shirt and black tie, wandering in front of cameras holding a pistol.
Speaking to a man off camera, the suspect said, ‘We are hired in by intelligence agencies.’
The footage aired on Dutch TV showed the man pacing in the studio with the black pistol behind his back until police stormed into the room.
‘Drop it! Drop it! And get on your knees!’ armed officers shouted, before putting handcuffs on the man and taking him away without a struggle.
Police quickly surrounded the building in Hilversum and evacuated staff, according to media reports. There were no reports of any shots being fired in the building.
The Thursday evening edition of the NOS news was not broadcast, with the station instead showing a message saying: ‘In connection with circumstances, no broadcast is available at this time’
The NOS 1 channel was still off-air with a screen reading: ‘Please be patient’ in Dutch, and the broadcaster said on its website that police were searching the building.
Hilversum is about 12 miles east of Amsterdam. There was no immediate indication that the incident was terror-related.
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Source Dailymail
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