Youth storms into Dutch TV studio with fake gun, sets city on edge

A 19-year-old brandishing a fake weapon threatened a security guard to gain access to the headquarters of Dutch national broadcaster NOS and demand airtime Thursday night before police stormed a TV studio to arrest him. Nobody was injured in the incident, but it forced the NOS off air for around an hour. It also set the nation on edge, coming just weeks after the deadly attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris that left 12 people dead. When NOS came back on air, it showed recorded footage of the young man, wearing a black suit, white shirt and black tie, and carrying a pistol with what looked like a silencer attached. Police said later the gun was a fake and that the man had no criminal record. Detectives were investigating his possible motives.

This is your worst nightmare, especially after Charlie Hebdo.

NOS director Jan de Jong

NOS reporter Martijn Bink said he spoke to the man after he was arrested and he claimed to be from a hackers’ collective. Police said in a statement the man demanded airtime and threatened that bombs would go off at several locations around the Netherlands if his demand wasn’t met. Special police units evacuated the building and thoroughly searched it but allowed staff back in later in the evening after finding nothing suspicious.

There is a major investigation underway to get clarity as quickly as possible about what happened here tonight.

Prosecutor Johan Bac

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