This Tuesday (17), Brussels police killed a suspect in the murder of two Swedish citizens on Monday (16) in Brussels, capital of Belgium. It is worth remembering that Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo condemned this as an act of “terrorist madness.”

Police intercept and kill shooting suspect in Brussels, Belgium – Photo: James Arthur Gekere/Belga/AFP

The suspect was “neutralized” after an overnight search in Brussels. According to one of the judicial authorities, the man died after being shot.

The Belgian prosecutor’s office reported that the suspect was identified in the morning in a local cafe. After that, the police approached him and shot the man.

A resuscitation attempt was made, but he was pronounced dead, the deputy said.

The attack occurred shortly before a football match between the national teams of Belgium and Sweden. Belgian Prosecutor General Frederic Van Leeuw said the suspect followed the taxi carrying the Swedes before opening fire.

It was confirmed that a third Swedish citizen was injured in the attack, in addition to the taxi driver. The news arrived a few minutes later at the King Balduino Stadium in Brussels, and the Swedish players refused to return to the field in the second half.

The players participated in the qualification for Euro 2024, and the match was interrupted with a score of 1:1.

Who was this man

At a press conference, De Croo said the suspect was Tunisian and was living in the country illegally. He also said the man had claimed responsibility for the attack and posted a video on social media in which he referred to the extremist group EI (Islamic State).

The identity of the suspect has not yet been established; he was introduced only as Abdesalem L., but it is known that he was a 45-year-old man.

He was also known to Brussels police as “involved in human trafficking and at least one attack on public security.”

Justice Minister Vicent Van Quickenborne said that he would have a radical profile in 2016, but this information was not confirmed.

“Even though we were known for our services, there was no specific information about radicalization,” the minister said.

State of preparedness for terrorism after attacks on Swedes

The Belgian government then activated the national crisis center and raised the terrorist threat to level 4, meaning very serious, the highest on the scale, in the Brussels region, and to level 3, meaning severe, in the remaining regions. a country.

The headquarters of the European Council and the European Commission also declared a state of high alert and closed access to visitors.

In France, at a plenary meeting of the European Parliament, a minute of silence was observed in memory of the fallen Swedes.

“Monday’s attack was carried out with complete cowardice. The attacker chose two Swedish football fans as a target,” said the head of government.

In Stockholm, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson warned that “Sweden’s interests have never been so threatened.” Commenting on the attack, Kristersson said it was an “unimaginable sadness”.

In Albania, French President Emmanuel Macron said that “all European states are vulnerable” to the return of “Islamist terrorism.”