Hostage Taker in Apple Store Demanded $220M in Crypto
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Hostage Taker in Apple Store Demanded $220M in Crypto

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2 years ago

Local police said the suspect "had a gun trained on his hostage the whole time and threatened to blow himself up."

Hostage Taker in Apple Store Demanded $220M in Crypto

Daftar Isi

New details have emerged about a gunman who held someone hostage at the Apple Store in Amsterdam.

The shooter was demanding $220 million worth of cryptocurrency, and had threatened to blow himself up if his demands weren't met.

Local police said the suspect "had a gun trained on his hostage the whole time and threatened to blow himself up."

The hostage appeared to have been chosen at random, and was a 44-year-old British man who had been shopping inside. Dozens of people were inside the store at the time, and four hid in a broom cupboard.

One local news organization had received photographs from the gunman that seemed to show his jacket was laced with explosives — and the pictures were quickly passed on to the police.

What Happened?

The incident was over by about 10.30pm on Tuesday after the gunman asked for water. When a robot came to deliver it, the hostage made a break for freedom. Although the suspect attempted to chase him, he was deliberately hit by a police car to stop him in his tracks.

Thankfully, no one else was injured as a result of the incident.

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly being demanded for ransom — but given how their usage can be traced on the blockchain, criminals can end up finding them incredibly difficult to spend.

In recent weeks, two people were arrested after being accused of laundering cryptocurrency linked to the Bitfinex hack in 2016. Meanwhile, a person suspected of orchestrating The DAO hack six years ago has also been unmasked by journalist Laura Shin.

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