A 19-year-old man entered the headquarters of Dutch national broadcaster NOS on Thursday by threatening guards with a fake gun and demanded airtime. He claimed that bombs would blow up across Netherlands if he wasn't allowed in.
However, no one was injured in the incident and the concerned youth was arrested by the police soon after.
The young student, dressed sharply in a black suit and tie, carried a letter with him that read: "I am heavily armed. If you just cooperate nicely, then nothing will happen," reports The Telegraph. He threatened a security guard using a fake gun he was carrying and forced him to take him to the editorial offices in the building.
A recording of him in the editorial office was broadcast on NOS, wherein he exclaims "This is taking too long'. He was also seen walking around the studio, warning that "the things that are going to be said (pause) those are very large world affairs."
Soon after, the police stormed the studio and yelled, "Drop it! Drop it! And get on your knees!" The youth calmly discards the gun and said "I dropped it. It's dropped". The police arrested him in the offices within 10 minutes after he got in, and whatever he wished to share on TV remains unknown.
The police have confirmed that he was working alone, and there is also no immediate indication that this was a terror-related activity.
However, he could be charged with kidnapping, possession of a firearm and threatening people with a weapon, according to prosecutor Johan Bac, reported Reuters.
The police are currently investigating the incident and trying to find answers as to who the youth is and what he wanted.
"He took the security guard hostage and said he wanted air time. If they didn't give it to him, he said there would be bombs in different places in the Netherlands that would explode if he didn't get time on TV," police spokesman Christine Scholts explained.
