Police have shot a man dead outside the Dutch central bank in Amsterdam following a massive operation. The man had approached officers brandishing a firearm.

The man was shot around 7:15 pm local time, according to Amsterdam Police. Paramedics arrived at the scene, but the man succumbed to his injuries and died. The man came at officers with a weapon drawn, but it was unclear from the police tweet if he opened fire on them or not.

Imagen tomada en el exterior de De Nederlandsche Bank pic.twitter.com/jZaiLiJ9m7 — 6W (@6W_es) February 6, 2019

Bystanders told local news network AT5 that they heard around 20 gunshots ring out. One bystander was injured in the crossfire.

Gunshots can be heard in a video shot from a passing car. Further footage from the scene shows a massive police response, with the surrounding streets closed off to traffic and trams also being halted.

Another video shows emergency services preparing to load the man’s body onto a stretcher.

Police also arrested the occupants of a car at a petrol station in the south of the city.

A spokesman for the De Nederlandsche Bank told NOS that the incident had nothing to do with the bank.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!