Dutch police have arrested an armed man who took five people hostage in the City Hall of the Almelo, a town some 150 kilometres east of Amsterdam.
The armed man (41) took a city alderman and four of his colleagues hostage this morning.
It was reported that he was a restaurant owner angry that his licence had not been renewed. He is said to have torched the premises before driving his car to City Hall, setting fire to it and entering the building, taking the hostages.
A large number of people were able to leave City Hall after the man detained the hostages in another part of the building, a police spokesman said.
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The man was arrested this afternoon following several hours of talks with police negotiators. There were no injuries reported.