Dozens of residents in Amsterdam Nieuw-West were evacuated from their homes overnight after police discovered an explosive device at a local toy shop.
Emergency services responded to a report on Abraham Staalmanplein around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Officers woke residents living in the apartments above the shop shortly before 4:00 a.m. and asked them to leave the building as a precaution.
Nighttime evacuation in Nieuw-West
Around 20 apartments were cleared while emergency teams secured the immediate area around the square.
The municipality brought in a public transport bus from GVB to offer displaced residents temporary shelter from the cold.
People were taken to a nearby police station on Johan Huizingalaan while specialists handled the situation.
Bomb disposal team safely removes device
Defensie Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers wearing heavy protective gear worked on the square to render the package safe.
It remains unclear why the device failed to detonate before officers arrived at the scene.
Police arrested two suspects at the location, though authorities have not yet released details about their identities.
Residents received permission to return to their homes shortly before 5:30 a.m. after experts cleared the area.
Repeat incidents at the same location
The shop on Abraham Staalmanplein has seen multiple security incidents over the past week.
The City of Amsterdam recently installed mobile surveillance cameras nearby following two previous explosions and a separate vandalism attempt.
Detectives are investigating whether this latest event is connected to the earlier incidents at the store.
No arrests have been made in relation to those previous attacks, and police are asking witnesses to come forward with any information.
