Brussels: what we know about the attack that killed two people
Belgian police officers from the forensic service search for evidence in a street after two people were killed during a shooting in Brussels on October 16, 2023 evening by a suspect who is on the run, the Belgian capital's prosecutor's office said. Two Swedish nationals were shot dead in Brussels late Monday by a suspect who remains at large, in an attack the Belgian prime minister described as "terrorism". The gunman, wearing a fluorescent orange jacket, fled on a scooter and Belgium subsequently raised its terror alert to four -- the highest -- for the Brussels region, and level three nationally. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
An attacker targeted, with an automatic weapon, two supporters of the Swedish football team, as well as a third person who was injured but is out of danger.The shock in Brussels, two people one Swedish, the other Swedish were killed on the evening of Monday 16 October in a shooting attack described as a «cowardly attack» by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
The main suspect, who fled on a scooter, was arrested on Tuesday morning, October 17.
The attack occurred shortly after 7pm near Place Sainctelette in Brussels, just minutes from a Euro-2024 qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden at the King Baudouin Stadium. According to Le Soir, an armed man, dressed in a neon parka, got off a scooter and shot passersby who had just gotten off a taxi, chasing people who were taking refuge in a building lobby.
Two people, «one of Swedish nationality, the other of Swedish origin», supporters of the football team, were killed, according to the federal prosecutor, Frédéric Van Leeuw. According to the first elements, the attacker targeted them with an automatic weapon. A third person, also of Swedish nationality, «is in hospital, in a serious condition», said the magistrate during a press conference organized this Tuesday, October 17 in the early morning and relayed by our colleagues of the World.
The Belgium-Sweden match was stopped at halftime, around 9:30 p.m. But the approximately 35.000 spectators at King Baudouin Stadium were then held back for more than two hours for security reasons. The compound was gradually evacuated, and Swedish supporters were escorted to the airport to return home.
