Belgium remains on its highest terror alert after a deranged terrorist shot and killed two Swedes in Brussels. The national teams of Sweden and Belgium played nearby when the attack occurred. The game was canceled at the half, with spectators told to remain inside the stadium for safety. The shooter is suspected to have been ISIS-inspired and remains at large [See UPDATE below] (via The Guardian):
#Belgium 🇧🇪: An armed man affiliated with #ISIS carried out a shooting attack in #Brussels (#Bruxelles) and killed at least two individuals to "avenge the Muslims".
— War Noir (@war_noir) October 16, 2023
The gunman was possibly armed with 7.62x39mm AK-platform rifle; sourced from Yugoslavian or Eastern Bloc stocks. pic.twitter.com/GYCmsVpLYB
Sweden-Belgium soccer match suspended after alleged ISIS shooting of Swedish fans https://t.co/uDnua9FN0g pic.twitter.com/7Z9GcA36fD
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) October 16, 2023
Brussels is on its highest level of security alert after two Swedes were shot dead in the centre of the city by a gunman who federal prosecutors said claimed to be inspired by Islamic State.
The Swedish national football team were in the middle of a match against Belgium at King Baudouin Stadium, about 5km away, but the match was abandoned at half-time and the crowd was instructed to stay inside the stadium.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office said the suspect remained at large and told residents to stay indoors. “Go home and stay at home until the threat has been eradicated,” they said.
In a video posted on social media, a man identifying himself as the attacker said “he was inspired by the Islamic State” extremist group, the spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office, Eric Van Duyse, said on the LN24 news channel.
Several Belgian media outlets said the two individuals killed were wearing football shirts belonging to the Swedish national team.
Laura Demullier of Belgium’s OCAD anti-terror centre said the highest priority for the authorities was to get more than 35,000 football fans attending the Belgium-Sweden football match safely out of the stadium. The evacuation eventually began just before midnight.
“The population needs to be actively vigilant and avoid any unnecessary travel,” Demullier said.
[…]
Several Belgian media outlets identified the suspect as a 45-year-old man of Tunisian origin who lived in Brussels.
The federal prosecutor in charge of terrorism cases launched an investigation. Police are only investigating one suspect at the moment based on preliminary information.
This attack comes after Hamas' October 7 attacks against Israel. A French teacher was also murdered by an ISIS-inspired terrorist last Friday.
Israeli forces are poised to invade Gaza to eliminate Hamas as a political and military entity, though they won’t begin until President Joe Biden leaves after a recently announced trip.
There are also concerns that this could erupt into a regional war.
UPDATE: It appears police shot and killed the suspect, per WaPo:
Police fatally shot the gunman who killed two people in the Belgian capital in a possible terrorist incident, Belgian authorities said Tuesday, ending a manhunt that had left the city on edge, but doing little to ease fears of an uptick in political violence across Europe.
Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden told Belgian broadcaster VRT that the suspect was shot in a cafe in the Schaerbeek district and that the weapon found nearby was the same one used in the attack the night before.
On Monday evening, two Swedes were shot and killed in the Belgian capital in what officials described as a possible terrorist attack, prompting suspension of the Belgium-Sweden Euro 2024 qualifier soccer match and putting the city on high alert as police searched for the suspect. Officials suggested the victims were targeted because of their nationality.
[…]
The shooting came days after a teacher was killed and three people were wounded in a stabbing at a French high school. On Tuesday, France’s anti-terror prosecutor said in a news conference that the suspect in the killing declared allegiance to the Islamic State before the attack.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that “all European states are vulnerable” to a return of terrorist violence.
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