On Feb. 22, 2022, a 27-year-old armed man entered the Apple Store in Leidseplein, Amsterdam, and held a customer at gunpoint for nearly five hours. He demanded €200 million in cryptocurrency and a safe exit from the building—but nothing went according to plan.
Bobby Boermans, director of Netflix’s new thriller iHostage, lives near the store and remembers that surreal night. “Fortunately, hostage situations like this are scarce in the Netherlands. That’s what made this incident bizarre. A man, demanding 200 million in cryptocurrency, chose to take a hostage in broad daylight on one of the busiest squares in Amsterdam,” he tells TIME.
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Boermans had just finished filming Netflix’s thriller series The Golden Hour—based on a fictional terror attack in Amsterdam—when a neighbor messaged him about the unfolding crisis. He passed by the scene shortly after and was struck by the silence that lingered once the chaos dissipated. “Only the bullet holes in the glass remained. That weird juxtaposition stayed with me. The surreal calm after the storm. It made me ask: what happened during those five terrifying hours? It’s nothing short of a miracle that all the hostages survived. Of course, there’s the symbolic weight of the setting itself—a global brand like Apple, known for its clean, peaceful spaces. A place of sleek design and calm… it became the scene of something truly horrifying inside and out.”
Those lingering questions led to iHostage, releasing on April 18 and inspired by the real events of that winter day three years ago. Here’s what to know about the hostage crisis that shook the Netherlands—and how it ended.
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A gunman takes hostages inside the Apple Store
Around 5:30 p.m. local time, an armed man dressed in camouflage gear entered the store and took a 44-year-old Bulgarian man hostage while other customers attempted to hide. People on the upper floors of the building, where the Apple Store occupies the ground level, also became trapped.
Police arrived within 10 minutes and were met with gunfire—at least four shots were fired. Authorities suspected the man was carrying explosives and quickly locked down the area. Special forces and ambulances flooded the scene, and workers in nearby stores were ordered to shelter in place. Over the next few hours, police successfully evacuated about 70 people from the building, including those hiding inside the store.
In the film, Boermans chose to closely follow the timeline of that night, though he took some dramatic license. “While working on the script, we consciously focused solely on the night of the hostage situation. Of course, you have to condense time in any film, but most of the story beats you see on screen are based on things that actually happened. We changed the dialogue and gave all characters fictional names so they couldn’t be traced back to the individuals involved. In reality, hundreds of people were involved in the stand-off, but we focused on five main characters—each from a different background, each offering a unique perspective,” he explains.
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The demands
Early in the stand-off, the gunman contacted police and demanded €200 million in cryptocurrency (over US$226 million at the time) and a safe way out. His motives remained unclear.
He also sent selfies and photos to the local press during the incident, which quickly spread across social media and news outlets, along with videos of the unfolding scene.
How police caught the gunman—and the ensuing fallout
At 10:30 p.m., after hours of negotiations, the gunman asked for water. Police used a robot to deliver a bottle. As the hostage walked toward the store entrance to retrieve it, he seized the moment to flee and ran outside.
The gunman gave chase. At that moment, a special police unit vehicle accelerated and struck the suspect. He fell unconscious, and videos of him lying on the ground circulated widely on social media.
Police confirmed later that night that the man survived and was taken to the hospital. He was not carrying explosives. A day later, officials confirmed he had died from his injuries.
The way the crisis ended—with a police vehicle running down the gunman—sparked controversy across the Netherlands. “The hostage incident sparked intense public debate in the Netherlands, mainly because of the unconventional way the police brought the situation to an end—by using a car. It was a unique and highly decisive act of violence, the result of a split-second decision made by one of the special forces operators,” says Boermans. “A video of the final moments went viral almost immediately after, and the entire country began discussing it. Some people applauded the action, while others were more hesitant or conflicted about how it was handled.”
Authorities investigated the officer who struck the suspect and decided not to press charges. The Public Prosecution Service later stated that the officer acted appropriately and would not face criminal charges. The identity of the man taken hostage and his condition were not, at that point, revealed.
A troubled past
The perpetrator was eventually revealed to be an Amsterdam resident with a criminal record. At the time of the incident, he carried a handgun and an automatic weapon. According to the Amsterdam-based Dutch newspaper Het Parool, authorities identified him as Abdel Rahman Akkad—a name already known to social services. Lawyer Jan-Kees van den Brink, who had represented Akkad in multiple legal cases, spoke to the newspaper about the perpetrator’s death on behalf of his mother, who hired him following the hostage situation.
Akkad had several prior encounters with the criminal justice system, including for weapons possession. He also received a sentence of 60 hours of community service, one month of conditional release, and a three-year restraining order for harassing an ex-girlfriend, the newspaper reported.
“My hope is that this film will spark an important dialogue about the increasing number of individuals with mental health issues living on the streets. Many well-meaning, everyday citizens are falling through the cracks, often due to financial difficulties or mental health challenges, and are being overlooked by our public health services. These are individuals who might have received assistance before tragically resorting to such terrible actions. It’s heartbreaking, and I hope that our governments will start dedicating more time, energy, and resources to improving our public health systems,” says Boermans.
The director of iHostage also spoke with Apple Store employees and customers, police negotiators, and others involved in coordinating the response. He hopes the film showcases the human resilience that emerges in moments of crisis. “And our capacity to support each other, even in the most challenging times. At the same time, I hope the film serves as a captivating thriller, keeping you on the edge of your seat while also touching you emotionally. I want the audience to experience both the intensity and the heart. Ultimately, it’s up to the viewer to decide who they root for and how they interpret the depicted violence.”