Alert level raised to its highest as Euro 2024 football tie between Belgium and Sweden is abandoned
Police in Belgium have shot the gunman who allegedly killed two Swedish nationals in Brussels on Monday night as the country raised its terrorist threat alert to its highest level since the Islamist attacks in 2016.
A spokesperson for the federal prosecutor confirmed that one person had been intercepted by security forces and was injured after shots were fired. A firearm that corresponded to the one used in Monday’s attack was found nearby, but the spokesperson was not in a position to confirm the identity of the suspect.
Interior minister Annelies Verlinden told Belgian media the individual was the probable perpetrator of the attack.
The shooting took place after thousands of Swedes arrived in Brussels for a football match. The Euro 2024 qualifying tie was abandoned at half-time and spectators were evacuated.
Belgium’s prime minister Alexander De Croo in a press conference early on Tuesday said the attacker was identified as a man of Tunisian origin who was living in the country illegally after his asylum claim was rejected. Justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said the 45-year-old was known to authorities, including for suspected human trafficking and threats to national security.
“Terrorism will never defeat us,” De Croo said, adding that the police presence in the capital was reinforced.
Two people of Swedish nationality were killed in the attack in Sainctelette, north-west of the capital and a third person, a taxi driver, was injured in the shooting that had a “possible terrorist motive”, Belgium’s Crisis Centre said. The person’s life was not in danger, the centre added.
“I have just offered my sincere condolences to [Sweden’s prime minister] following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels,” De Croo wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, late on Monday. “As close partners, the fight against terrorism is a joint one,” he added.
The Crisis Centre raised the terrorist alert level for Brussels to 4, its highest, urging people to avoid unnecessary travel. This is the first time this level has been declared since 35 people were killed during Islamist terrorist attacks in 2016. The level for the rest of Belgium was raised to 3.
De Croo said the threat level would be re-examined on Tuesday.
The Crisis Centre said a person had claimed on social media to be responsible for the attack, citing the victims’ Swedish nationality as a possible motivating factor behind the act.
“The message was recorded by a person identifying himself as the attacker. He claims to be inspired by Islamic State,” the Crisis Centre said in a statement.
Sweden raised its security threat level over the summer following several incidents of Koran burnings, sometimes linked to far-right protests, which caused a backlash among Muslim-majority countries.
European countries have been on heightened alert because of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, fearing possible repercussions on the continent. Last week, a teacher was killed in France in an incident that Jewish leaders have connected with the conflict.
The Crisis Centre said that, at present, nothing indicated that the attack was linked to the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The European Commission urged its staff to work from home on Tuesday and shut EU schools and kindergartens in Brussels on Tuesday. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X: “Together, we stand united against terror.”
