A hostage situation at a Berlin bank ended without bloodshed Friday when the alleged hostage taker gave up and released the bank employee he had held for hours, dpa reported.
The man exited the building on his own and was taken into custody, a police spokesman said. The bank employee, a 40-year-old man, was released after being held for nearly 12 hours.
The incident took place at a Deutsche Bank branch in the middle class district of Zehlendorf. Hundreds of police were deployed to end the drama that began during an attempted robbery. The alleged robber demanded a large sum of money and safe passage.
Before the suspect gave up special police forces spoke with him over the phone, the police spokesman said. The spokesman declined to provide further information about the suspect.
The police spokesman never confirmed media reports saying the man had threatened to set off a bomb.