Belgian police on Tuesday arrested the man suspected of shooting two Swedish football fans in an attack in Brussels, a spokesman for the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said.
Spokesman Eric Van Duyse told AFP that officers “opened fire” when they stopped the man in the Schaarbeek district, but did not say whether the suspect was injured.
Prime Minister Alexander de Croo had stated hours earlier that the suspect was a man of Tunisian origin who was staying in the country illegally.
“The terrorist attack that took place yesterday was carried out with total cowardice. The attacker targeted two Swedish football fans,” De Croo said at a news conference, adding that a third person was seriously injured.
Sweden expressed its devastation over the shooting – which took place just before a football match between Belgium and Sweden on Monday evening – and European leaders were quick to express their solidarity.
Sweden was at the center of a bitter dispute with Muslim countries this year after several burnings of the Koran, Islam’s holy book.
Several Belgian media identified the suspect as 45-year-old Abdesalem L.
Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborn said the asylum seeker had been convicted “of common law crimes” in Tunisia but was not charged with terrorism.
Prosecutors said the attacker indicated in his video that the victims’ Swedish nationality was a motivation, but there appeared to be no connection to the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.
“Devastated by the news of two Swedish football fans murdered in Brussels this evening and a third person seriously injured. All my thoughts are with their families and loved ones,” said Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom. “Swedish authorities are working closely with their Belgian partners to find the killer,” he added on social media.
The president of the Brussels-based European Commission also quickly condemned the attack. “My thoughts are with the families of the two victims of the despicable attack in Brussels,” Ursula von der Leyen posted on social media. “Together we stand united against terrorism,” he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe was “shaken” by an “Islamic” attack in Brussels, while France’s interior minister issued instructions to strengthen border controls with Belgium.
On Monday there was a shooting in the Belgian capital that left two people dead. The Belgian authorities have raised the alert level in Brussels to the maximum level.
A video, apparently taken at the time of the crime and circulated on social media, shows a person shooting a firearm in the middle of the street in the Molenbeek district. As people flee into the street, the gunman enters a building and at least three shots are heard. The gunman identified himself as a man inspired by Islamic State.
The Belgian and Swedish national football teams played in Brussels on Tuesday, but the match did not resume after the break and authorities prevented people from leaving the Heysel Stadium, about three kilometers from the scene of the shooting, local press said.
(Updating)
Source: DN
