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Two people were shot dead on Monday October 16 in the early evening in the northern districts of Brussels, near Place Sainctelette. While the suspect is still on the run, the federal prosecutor’s office, responsible for terrorism, announced that it was seized of the investigation. “My most sincere condolences to the loved ones of the victims of the cowardly attack in Brussels”has declared on the social network the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo. He then clarified that the victims were of Swedish nationality.
A football match between Belgium and Sweden took place Monday evening in Brussels, at the King Baudouin stadium, as part of qualifying for Euro 2024. It was interrupted at half-time and the authorities confined the supporters of the stadium before starting to evacuate them safely around midnight, said the Belgian Crisis Center.
An unauthenticated claim video. According to several videos posted on social networks and in the Belgian media, the shooter in a fluorescent orange jacket was riding a scooter and fled after using an automatic rifle. A video claiming responsibility for the double murder, in which a man is dressed in the same fluorescent orange jacket and speaks in Arabic, is also circulating, without being authenticated. That man claims to belong to the Islamic State terrorist group and claims to have killed “three Swedes”.
“Three people targeted”. “Tkings people” have been “aimed” by the attack, said Eric van Duyse, spokesperson for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, during a press briefing. In addition to the two people killed, a taxi driver is now “out of danger”. For now, “no element indicates a potential link with the Israeli-Palestinian situation”he added. According to the director of RTBF, also interviewed on franceinfo, the victims were wearing Swedish national team supporter jerseys.
Control at the Franco-Belgian border strengthened. Threat level 4 (the highest) for the Brussels-Capital region has been activated and residents are recommended to“avoid unnecessary travel”. The French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, immediately announced the strengthening of controls at the border with Belgium.
A crisis meeting at the top. “The police services are mobilizing to ensure security in and around our capital in collaboration with the Minister of the Interior”has reacted on the mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close. “Terrible shooting in Brussels”has completed on the social network the Minister of the Interior, Annelies Verlinden. “I monitor the situation and the measures to be taken from the National Crisis Center”, she adds. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice are participating, according to the spokesperson for the Crisis Center, cited by La Libre Belgique.
“Europe is shaken up,” reacts Emmanuel Macron. While France itself has just been hit on its soil by a terrorist attack, with the assassination of a teacher in Arras (Pas-de-Calais) on Friday, the French president reacted from Albania, where he is on an official trip. “Brussels has been hit again by a terrorist attack which, as I speak to you, has taken the lives of at least two Europeans, two Swedes”. “Europe is shaken up”he added.