After the end of a hostage situation in an Apple store in downtown Amsterdam, the alleged perpetrator died of his injuries.

"I can confirm that the man died in hospital tonight," prosecutors spokesman Franklin Wattimena said late Wednesday night.

Special police units hit the 27-year-old with a car the night before when he ran out of the shop.

The crime had lasted almost five hours on Tuesday evening.

At around 5:30 p.m., the police received a report of a suspected robbery by an armed man.

The first officers on the scene at the Leidseplein, a popular tourist square in central Amsterdam, discovered that the perpetrator, who wore camouflage clothing, had an automatic weapon.

It was also suspected that the man might have been wearing an explosives belt.

The square was cordoned off immediately, and the cafés and theaters in the surrounding shopping and nightlife area were closed.

More than 70 people were able to leave the Apple store building, but the gunman took a Bulgarian hostage and held him by the shoulder.

Four other people hid in a closet.

Footage posted online showed a man with a gun holding an unarmed man.

According to broadcaster AT5, several local people reported hearing gunshots at the Apple Store.

In fact, bullet holes could be seen in the shop window the day after the crime.

The hostage-taker demanded 200 million euros in cryptocurrency and threatened to blow himself up.

At around 10:30 p.m., the hostage-taker asked for water.

Footage shows the hostage bending over as the water is being delivered, then running out of the building.

The hostage-taker ran after the man, but was immediately run over with a vehicle by special police units.

Lying on the street, the man was examined by a robot for explosives, but police said he had no explosives on his body.

The police later said the man had explosives with him, but they were not activated.

From his point of view, the Bulgarian "played a kind of heroic role," said Amsterdam police chief Frank Paauw.

"He escaped from his hostage situation in a fraction of a second." Otherwise it would have been "an even longer and worse night," emphasized Paauw.

He described the actions of the special units as "very appropriate and attentive".

According to the Dutch police, the motive of the perpetrator was not known.