Two people lost their lives in a horrific shooting event in central Brussels on Monday. According to Belgian authorities, the offender is still at large.
Videos of a man firing multiple bullets with a huge handgun near a station were shown by local media. Belgian media outlets have stated that the two victims were Swedish citizens.
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Only three miles from the shooting scene, Heysel Stadium will host the Swedish national football team’s Euro 2024 qualifying match versus Belgium that evening. Whether the victims were in the city for the match has not been established, though. According to police spokeswoman Ilse Vande Keere, law enforcement is currently there and has blocked off the surrounding area.
The Swedish national team was scheduled to play Belgium later in the evening at Heysel Stadium, which was only three miles (5 kilometers) away. According to an investigation source, “He was also yelling that he was going to exact revenge.” He fired at different targets, hitting several of them. This possessed every trait of a terrorist strike.”
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Following this horrific event, Brussels’ threat level has been raised to 4. Wearing a white helmet and a bright orange jacket, the attacker brandished a weapon. He reportedly targeted two individuals in a taxi after attempting to harm someone else in a lobby. Subsequently, he made his escape on a scooter.
The Brussels police confirmed through a spokesman that “we are dealing with two fatalities, and they are believed to be of Swedish nationality.”
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Recent years have seen a number of terrorist attacks in Belgium, all of which have been connected to extremist organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Eight men were tried recently for their roles in the 2016 suicide bombings at a subway station and an airport in Brussels that resulted in hundreds of injuries and 32 fatalities.