A man in his 30s held a woman hostage for several hours at a house in the village of Hoevenen, near Stabroek in Antwerp Province on Tuesday evening. The Federal Police Special Unit was deployed to deal with the incident at the house on the Krekelberg. They were able to arrest the man that was armed with a knife. The woman, believed to be the man’s partner, was not injured.
Man armed with a knife holds woman hostage for several hours at a house in Hoevenen
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At around 8pm on Tuesday evening police received reports that a woman had been taken hostage at a house in Hoevenen.
Kristof Aerts of the Antwerp prosecutor’s office told VRT News that "A man that was possibly under the influence had gone into a house on the Krekelberg. It is probable that he is a resident of the house. He then threatened the other people present there with a knife, on which they fled. A woman, probably his partner, remained with him."
As this had become a hostage situation the Local Police Service called in the Federal Police Special Unit
"They spoke to the hostage taker, but it wasn’t until midnight that he let them go inside. There they were able to arrest him without further incident. The woman was unharmed”.
A section of the Krekelberg was cordoned off during the incident. Residents of the houses within the area that had been cordoned off had to remain inside their homes.
Local residents say that this was not the first time that the police had been called to the house. The house is reportedly let to seasonal workers.