Two Swedes killed before game
Brussels perpetrator still on the run
October 17, 2023, 7:15 a.m
A man shoots people on the streets of Brussels on Monday evening, the government speaks of terror and several thousand people have to wait in a football stadium. The danger has not yet been averted; the fugitive suspected assassin is already known to the authorities.
After the fatal shots at two Swedes in Brussels, the suspected assassin is still on the run. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said early in the morning that it was a man of Tunisian origin who was staying in Belgium illegally. The highest level of terror was declared for the Belgian capital on Monday evening. The federal public prosecutor’s office took over the investigation because of a “potentially terrorist motive.” Some media reported that the shooting could have an Islamist background.
De Croo said that because the threat level for Brussels had been upgraded to the highest level, there would now be an increased police presence. Increased security measures would also be implemented in a number of sensitive locations, particularly those associated with the Swedish community. There are also increased controls in the rest of the country. De Croo called on everyone in Brussels to be more vigilant. The National Security Council is scheduled to meet in the afternoon.
The suspected attacker is known to the police
According to the Belgian Minister of Justice, the 45-year-old suspected attacker is known to the authorities. The investigation is ongoing, but it can already be said that it is a 45-year-old Tunisian who applied for asylum in Belgium in November 2019, said Vincent van Quickenborne early in the morning. The police noticed him in connection with human trafficking, illegal residence and endangering state security.
In July 2016, unconfirmed information was transmitted by a foreign police agency that the man had a radicalized profile and wanted to go to jihad in a conflict area, van Quickenborne said. There is plenty of such information. It was checked without results. “Moreover, as far as our services know, there was no concrete evidence of radicalization.”
Early on Monday evening, according to the Belga news agency, an armed man got off a scooter in the north of the city center and fired shots on the street. When several people fled into a house entrance, he is said to have chased them and shot them. The police did not initially confirm this information. According to the public prosecutor’s office, a third victim, a taxi driver, is now out of danger.
The two Swedes died around five kilometers away from the Brussels football stadium, where the national teams of Belgium and Sweden were playing against each other in a European Championship qualifier. The game was canceled. The news of the deaths of the two Swedes spread during half-time.
Swedish nationality as a possible motivation
According to the Swedish TV channel SVT, the Swedish national team players then decided not to continue the game. The Belgian national players would have joined in. For safety reasons, several thousand people initially had to stay in the Brussels football stadium until they could be evacuated.
It is not the first time that people have fallen victim to an attack in Brussels. The trial of the 2016 Brussels terrorist attacks only ended around four weeks ago. Three suicide bombers from the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) detonated bombs at Brussels’ Zaventem airport and in a subway station in the heart of the Belgian capital. They killed over 30 people and injured 340. The bereaved were also stunned by media reports at the time that several of the defendants had been monitored by the Belgian security authorities before the attacks – and were still able to carry out their bloody acts later.
According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, a post by a person who posed as the attacker and claimed to be inspired by the terrorist organization Islamic State was shared on social networks. A video is also being shared online that is supposed to show the crime. There you can see the suspected shooter in an orange neon jacket shouldering an automatic weapon and driving away on a motor scooter. At least four shots can be heard at the same time.
The Belga news agency quoted a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office as saying that the victims’ Swedish nationality could also be a motivation for the crime. This year, people in Sweden and later also in Denmark burned copies of the Koran several times, triggering angry reactions among Muslims. This caused diplomatic trouble for the Scandinavian countries. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called on his compatriots in Belgium to be cautious and vigilant.
Von der Leyen speaks of a “cowardly attack”
De Croo expressed his sincere condolences to Kristersson: “As close partners, the fight against terrorism is a common fight.” However, the spokesman for the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office made it clear that there was so far no connection between the attack and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a “cowardly attack” and expressed her condolences to the people of Sweden.
Belgian EU Council President Charles Michel wrote on The Belgian Royal Palace was “shocked” and expressed its “support for the security forces who are doing everything they can to catch the perpetrator of the crimes,” it said on X. The Council of Muslims in Belgium condemned the attack. He called on the authorities “to exercise the utmost determination to protect our national community and shed light on the issue as quickly as possible.”