2nd LD Writethru: Armed suspect surrenders to Serbian police after "hostage crisis"

BELGRADE, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Serbian police arrested an armed man who had barricaded himself in a building on Saturday morning in Belgrade's municipality of Rakovica, ending a two hour crisis, the ministry of interior confirmed.

Previously, media reported that the man had barricaded himself in the building armed with a pistol and an automatic rifle, threatening that he would blow up the building with a bomb.

The situation was quickly described as a "hostage crisis". Police special units, sniper teams and negotiators quickly rushed to the scene.

However, the release reveals that the 45-year-old man with the initials B.J. had surrendered to the police in the hallway after two hours of negotiations, while public broadcaster RTS reported that the suspect had not taken any hostages.

The ministry confirmed that the man was armed and that he was once sentenced to serve a prison term. It is so far unclear whether the sentencing has anything to do with the incident. Enditem