A man with a firearm was in the vicinity of an Amsterdam shop, police in the Netherlands said Tuesday adding that officers had surrounded the scene, reportedly an Apple store on a downtown square.
"There is someone with a firearm in/near the shop in question, the police are on site with many (specialist) units to get the situation under control," the Amsterdam police department said in a statement on Twitter.
Officers did not specify how many people were in the shop, but police had received a report of an armed robbery at 17:40 pm (1640 GMT).
The alleged robbery later turned into a hostage situation, according to Dutch public broadcaster NOS.
Images on social media showed a gunman holding an unarmed man at gunpoint, local media reported, and several witnesses heard gunshots inside the Apple Store and according to the AT5 outlet.