Gunman holds customer at Apple store hostage, demands $230 million in cryptocurrency

Key Takeaways

• A gunman held a customer at the Aple Store hostage, demanding $230 million ransom
• Armed with guns and a denotator vest, he wanted to be paid in cryptocurrencies rather than fiat
• The hostage taker later died in the hospital after sustaining injuries from a police vehicle

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) – A gunman in Amsterdam took a customer in the Apple Store hostage in an attempted cryptocurrency ransom incident. The police identified the hostage as a 44-year-old man from Bulgaria. According to the local reports, the alleged criminal demanded a ransom of €200 million (about $230 million) in crypto in exchange for the man’s life.

The gunman also claimed to be wearing explosives on his body.

He threatened to blow himself up if he did not receive his cryptocurrency demand. He further demanded a guaranteed safe exit from the store. According to the local police, the gunman had a previous criminal record for violating Netherlands’ gun laws. It is unclear which cryptocurrency the man demanded his ransom in. 

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Police believe over 70 people were in the Apple store when the armed man entered.

“The suspect had a gun trained on his hostage the whole time and threatened to blow himself up. We don’t think he knew how many people were in the building,” 

Dutch Police chief Frank Paauw said.

However, the police arrived at the scene after receiving a call from the cryptocurrency-demanding gunman himself. 

Gunman gets no cryptocurrency, dies of sustained injuries

In what came as a relief to everyone involved, the police averted any serious incident in the case. The quick-thinking hostage managed to find an opportune moment to escape, causing the gunman to chase after him. The police vehicle waiting outside rammed into him, causing him serious injuries. 

“We managed to end the situation by hitting the hostage-taker with a car when he ran outside,”

police said on Twitter.

Although the police arrested and took the wounded gunman to the hospital, he, unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Furthermore, he failed to procure any cryptocurrency ransom.

Apple also thanked the local police for managing the crisis without casualties.

“We are so incredibly grateful and relieved that our employees and customers in Amsterdam are safe after this terrifying experience,” 

Apple said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, as more people acquaint themselves with the technology, cryptocurrency gets increasingly misused for criminal activities.