Prosecutors in Belgium claim that the guy who murdered a police officer in Brussels on Thursday was on a list of potentially violent radicals.
During the knife attack, the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” or “God is greatest,” according to a second officer who was also injured but survived.
Belgian authorities reported that the suspect had previously requested psychological assistance at a police station.
The suspect was shot by other officers and is currently hospitalized.
Officials stated at a news conference in Brussels on Friday that Yassine M, a Belgian national, had been imprisoned between 2013 and 2019 for non-terror-related offenses and was on a violent extremist watch list.
The suspect, who was in his early 30s, visited a police station in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of northern Brussels earlier in the day, making incomprehensible statements and expressing his disdain for the police.
According to the Belgian federal prosecutor, who is conducting the investigation, he was escorted to a psychiatric facility for treatment, but when police reached the hospital later, he had departed.
The suspect targeted two cops while they waited at a red light in a patrol vehicle near the busy Gare du Nord train station, according to spokesman Eric Van Duyse.
The man stabbed the driver, a 29-year-old cop identified as Thomas M, in the throat with a knife, causing fatal wounds.
He then stabbed a 23-year-old second officer in the arm. He was sent to the hospital for emergency surgery and is reportedly recuperating.
There is no fireworks present.
A resident reported hearing “five or six” gunshots shortly after the attack, which occurred at approximately 19:15. (18:15 GMT).
“I was on my way home from work and the phone with my father when I heard five or six gunshots,” Kremel, a witness, said.
“My father said, “What is going on?” I stated that it is likely fireworks. He said, “No, those are gunshots.”
The federal prosecutor’s office stated that the attack is being investigated as a terrorist assassination and attempted murder.
Mr. Van Duyse informed that he was unaware of any interaction between the authorities and the suspect since his release from prison four years ago.
The suspect could not have been detained, according to him, because he had freely requested assistance. As part of the probe, he stated that the sequence of events would be investigated.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo tweeted his condolences to the deceased officer’s family and friends “Every day, our police officers sacrifice their lives to protect our citizens. The drama of today proves this once more.”
The presence of police tape-barricaded streets, and flashing blue lights evokes negative memories in Brussels.
Six years have passed, but Brussels still carries the scars of a 2016 coordinated terrorist assault that murdered 32 people at the main airport and on the metro.
In the next weeks, nine alleged members of a cell of the so-called Islamic State will stand trial for their claimed involvement in the attacks.
