The court in Zutphen is hearing the case against a man accused of holding four people hostage in a café in Ede at the end of March. The 28-year-old Corné H. is charged with hostage-taking and making threats.
On Saturday morning, March 30, at 5:15 a.m., police received a report of a hostage situation at café Petticoat in the Gelderland municipality. The suspect allegedly brandished knives and claimed to have explosives.
By 11:00 a.m., three hostages were released following police negotiations, and the fourth was released unharmed an hour and a half later. The suspect left the building shortly after and was arrested.
During the incident, a large part of Ede’s city center was cordoned off, around 150 nearby residents were evacuated, and train services were halted. Corné H. was already known to the police, having been convicted the previous year for threatening to kill.
He reportedly pointed a firearm or a replica at two officers, receiving a 120-day sentence, 103 of which were suspended. He was also required to report to probation services and undergo treatment at a forensic psychiatric clinic.
Before his conviction, H. had sought help, and on the day of the hostage-taking, police stated he posed a danger to himself and others.
Source: NOS