The police arrested a 67-year-old suspect on a bus this afternoon after a report of a suspicious package at Stadshart Amstelveen. After investigation it appears not to be an explosive.
Due to the suspicious situation, a lot of police were on the scene for a while. All occupants were safely removed from the bus after some time. The area has also been cleared.
The police received a report around 1 p.m. that someone with a suspicious package, possibly an explosive, had boarded a Connexxion bus at Schiphol. A spokesperson says that ‘based on the nature of the report and the reporter’, a large scale was immediately scaled up. The bus was followed by a police helicopter that kept a continuous view of the vehicle.
In the meantime, the police maintained contact with the bus driver, who stopped the bus in the Meander street on the Amstelveenseweg. There, all passengers were asked to leave the bus. When the suspect got off the bus, he was arrested by the police based on a description.
After investigation, the suspicious package turns out not to be an explosive. The arrested man, who comes from The Hague, remains a suspect in the case and will be interrogated.
The Meander street, towards the bus station, was closed off, as was the Amstelveen exit on the A9 from Amsterdam. Both barriers have now been lifted.
Tags: Bus suspicious package Schiphol police helicopter suspect arrested
